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00:00 well prepared in terms of just being able to drop schemes, drop defenses,
00:05 things like that, answer the questions that are asked.
00:07 And I feel like the interviews that have been brought forth towards me have
00:10 been very well.
00:11 >> Kendall, you were a little bit behind schedule with medical,
00:14 can you talk to me a little bit?
00:15 Except for the medical exams.
00:17 >> What was that?
00:18 >> Did the medical exams keep you behind schedule tonight?
00:20 >> Yes, sir, I went and got an MRI on my knee and then an X-ray on my elbow.
00:23 The X-ray was a past fracture from eighth grade.
00:27 >> What do you think is it that makes Georgia different than any other school
00:30 in the current season?
00:31 >> I would say out of Georgia, we just prepare different every week.
00:34 Every week we take it as a game mentality,
00:36 especially having a coach like Kirby Smart.
00:38 There are no days where we can just be lax or dazzle cool or be lazy or
00:42 anything like that.
00:42 The Georgia standard has been set before I even stepped foot on campus.
00:46 And that was something that we as players took that personal and
00:49 wanted to uphold because winning a national championship isn't easy.
00:52 It's not something that you can just wake up and think, we're Georgia,
00:55 we're gonna win.
00:56 It's something that goes every day, even outside of practice.
00:59 It starts with how you attack meetings, how you attack the weight room,
01:03 everything like that.
01:03 So I feel like the way that we prepare, the way that we pride ourselves,
01:07 the standard of Georgia football,
01:09 that's what set us apart from other college programs.
01:12 >> Can you talk a little bit about Carson Beck?
01:14 >> Yeah, Carson Beck is crazy because me and Carson came in on the same class.
01:17 So I remember Carson's hard times when there was a loaded quarterback room.
01:22 And you know what I mean?
01:23 Things were told, but things weren't really end up on the back end.
01:27 But just to see where he's at now, I'm very proud of Carson.
01:30 He's been resilient, he showed composure.
01:32 And everything that he's really taken in now, he really, he deserves all of it.
01:37 Because he put the work in even when he was coming out of high school,
01:41 a great quarterback, but had to kind of sit in the shadows for a little bit.
01:44 He stayed patient and everything's paying off for him now.
01:47 >> What's it been?
01:47 >> Have you met with him formally here so far?
01:50 >> I haven't met with anything formally in the combine.
01:51 >> Kendall, for you personally, what does it feel like to be here?
01:54 Like you mentioned with all the injury issues you dealt with in your time at
01:57 Georgia, the tough road it was to get here.
01:59 >> It really feels like a dream come true.
02:01 Even before Georgia, this opportunity was something that I dreamed about as a kid
02:05 growing up.
02:07 Every kid that has football dreams watches the combine, watches all the fast 40s.
02:12 And all the big names going through the combine.
02:15 And to be able to be here and
02:16 have the opportunity to partake in the combine is really a blessing.
02:20 I was talking to Keon Coleman the other day, we were training together.
02:24 And we were really just talking and we kind of had a set in moment of, dang,
02:28 we're really at the NFL combine.
02:30 It all sets in, I feel like it probably hasn't hit me yet,
02:33 when I look back on it.
02:34 I see myself on TV or the pictures, it's all gonna set in that this is one of those
02:39 moments that you really work your whole life for.
02:41 That those times in youth football, in high school,
02:45 these are moments that you look forward to.
02:46 And to have these moments is definitely a blessing.
02:49 >> Kendall, what did it mean for you to finish the way that you did in your
02:51 first career at Baton Rouge?
02:52 And basically, what was this moment for you?
02:55 >> It definitely meant the world to me because even,
02:58 I got asked this question the other day of how I felt my career went.
03:01 And I feel like some will say my career went good, but for me,
03:04 I feel like there was a lot left on the table in terms of what I know that I bring
03:08 to the table and what I know, fully healthy,
03:10 Kendall Melton, what would have happened on that field.
03:12 So I feel like being able to have the opportunity to finish the back half of
03:17 the season healthy, especially with finishing with the SEC schedule,
03:21 the top teams of the SEC.
03:23 That was definitely a blessing because if anybody followed Georgia football,
03:27 it hasn't necessarily been an easy college career or an easy journey.
03:30 Even when games when I have played, there was still dealing with certain stuff.
03:33 But to have teammates that had my back like Javon Bullard, Cedric Van Praan,
03:38 those guys stayed in my ear every day letting me know that they believe in me.
03:41 And I let them know at the end of the Florida State game how much it meant to me
03:44 because those guys kept me motivated throughout that whole process.
03:49 And it was definitely a blessing to have teammates like that.
03:52 And I gotta give all the thanks to God for
03:54 allowing me to have the back end of the year that I had.
03:56 >> When you say anything about taking preventative measures throughout your
03:58 career to maybe avoid injury, sometimes it's bad luck.
04:02 >> I feel like part of my career has been bad luck, especially with the MCL type,
04:07 just wrong place, wrong time, wrong situation.
04:10 But if you guys, any of the training staff, any of the coaches,
04:13 I was in that training room like I live there.
04:16 Especially with my class schedule going into my senior year,
04:19 I was in there any opportunity that I had a free time,
04:21 I was taking it in the training room just trying to get ahead of the game a little
04:25 bit. I even invested in certain things within my own household like
04:29 a little slam board, electric foam roller, foot massage,
04:33 doing yoga every night in front of the TV.
04:36 Trying to do little measures just to keep myself on the field so
04:38 I can be there to support my teammates.
04:40 >> What do you think has your family, I know family's big for you.
04:42 Talk about the support you've had throughout your career as well as you got
04:46 it now.
04:46 >> It's been crazy, going through high school, my parents had made a lot of
04:50 sacrifices just to be able to make me who I am today.
04:54 Even my brother, my brother is somebody who I looked up to.
04:56 He was five years older than me, so he was really that big brother figure.
05:00 He went to Fresno State and I remember every game,
05:03 I would take pictures of him before the game, after the game.
05:05 I'm meeting up with him, putting the camera right in his face,
05:07 letting him know how proud I am.
05:09 And just at this point now, to have the roles flipped to where he takes me every
05:13 day and if I need to talk about something, he's always there for me.
05:16 I would say my support system is the reason why I'm here, why I am today.
05:20 Because like I said, everybody knows what I dealt with at Georgia.
05:24 There was a lot of moments where I didn't even know if I wanted to keep playing
05:26 football just because when the injuries start piling up,
05:30 you start getting that kind of depressed mind state.
05:32 But they were always those people that were literally in my corner.
05:35 Every time something happened, I would always call them and
05:38 they gave me the words that I needed to keep it going.
05:39 So I would say there would be no Kendall Milton without my support system.
05:42 >> Kendall, when you say there's a lot left on the table for you,
05:45 how is that motivating you going forward in your football career?
05:48 Do you feel like your best football,
05:50 your best playing could maybe still be ahead of you?
05:52 >> Yes, sir, I feel extremely motivated to continue out,
05:56 especially at the next level.
05:58 Like I said, a lot of that was on the table during college football.
06:01 And I feel like going into the next step, I feel like, like you said,
06:06 my best football is ahead of me.
06:07 Because at this point, I'm gonna be in situations where I can take care of my
06:11 body at a different level.
06:13 And I really believe that, like you said, my best football is ahead of me.
06:16 And a lot of things will be happening at the next level that will be,
06:20 make me very proud, make my family very proud.
06:22 >> Kendall, Georgia brought in a transfer running back from Florida.
06:25 What about the guys that are already there?
06:26 What do you expect from them this year, some of those guys?
06:29 >> RBU, that's the main thing I expect out of Georgia.
06:31 I feel like the standard has been there before I got there,
06:34 it's gonna be there after I leave.
06:36 Even after Coach McGee, he just took the head coach job, but
06:39 the standard is still RBU.
06:40 And the guys in the room, Andrew, Paul, Rod, Branson, you know what I mean?
06:45 Even ATN, these guys are gonna be able to uphold the standard.
06:48 These are guys that are talented backs.
06:50 I was with them for the past two to three years.
06:52 A lot of them, seeing them every day, seeing the work they put in,
06:55 seeing the talent they have.
06:56 And I have no doubt that that same standard will be upheld.
07:00 After this year, in the next 20 years,
07:02 RBU is just gonna stay at that standard.
07:04 >> What was the biggest learning curve for you at Georgia?
07:07 How do you feel like they've prepared you for this moment?
07:09 >> I feel like at Georgia,
07:10 the biggest thing that I learned is just really control what you can control.
07:14 Because like I said, the things that I dealt with, the path that I took,
07:18 I feel like there's a lot of situations that I couldn't control.
07:20 And I was just able to stay composed and
07:23 really see the brighter side of things.
07:25 Especially, like I said, the path that I took,
07:28 there was a lot of moments that were out of my control.
07:30 And really, my mom kinda taught me this,
07:33 that if you dwell on what you can't control,
07:36 then you're just gonna further throw yourself off path in the future.
07:41 And I feel like I took that to heart.
07:42 And when I learned to not get down those moments,
07:45 to actually just focus on things I can control.
07:48 Like, say if I go down, then bet I can get in the playbook more.
07:51 If I go down, then bet I must focus on film, just little things like that.
07:54 And I feel like it's really benefited me.
07:57 >> Last one.
07:57 >> Combine this week, are the Buccaneers a team that you've met with?
08:00 And also, what can you say about Brian McClendon and his time at Bucs?
08:04 >> Yeah, I talked to the Buccaneers briefly just within the informal
08:07 interviews and going to Coach Behmack.
08:10 Coach Behmack, he's always been one of those coaches that,
08:13 he feels like more than a coach.
08:14 He feels like somebody you could talk to.
08:16 You know what I mean?
08:16 He has that kind of player mentality, that player type of vibe,
08:22 when you talk to him.
08:23 And it's easy to talk to him about off the field issues,
08:26 talk to him about something going on in your life, because he's dealt with it.
08:29 He's been in those situations.
08:31 He's gone through everything we're going through.
08:33 And he just has a big heart.
08:35 I really appreciate Behmack, because he's been one of those coaches that
08:39 you can tell he has your best interest at heart, even off the field.