NFL Draft Blitz

Alex Khvatov:  What are your measurements (height, weight and forty time)?

Larry Warford:  My height is 6’3, my weight is 340 and my best 40 time is 5.40.           

Alex Khvatov:  What schools recruited you when you were coming out of high school?

Larry Warford:  It was obviously Kentucky, Cincinnati, Marshall, Western Kentucky and I had some interest from Auburn and Tennessee.        

Alex Khvatov:  Why did you eventually choose Kentucky?

Larry Warford:  It was a couple of reasons.  I obviously had a cousin up here, CB Paul Warford.  I wanted to get to know him better.  It was nice to play with him.  My house was 30 minutes away from campus.  I had a chance to play in the SEC and be closer to home.  It was one of the biggest factors.  I came up here and I liked the coaching staff a lot.  They were really great people.  I liked the country side a lot.                        

Alex Khvatov:  What was it like moving from San Diego, CA to Kentucky? 

Larry Warford:  It was a huge culture shock.  Everything in San Diego just happens at a faster pace.  Everything just goes by so fast even if you are walking down the street.  There was barely anyone on the street here at Kentucky.  People are just talking to each other.  People greet you on the streets even if they don’t know you.  In California, those things don’t happen.  There is a lot more adversity in San Diego.                    

Alex Khvatov:  Describe your overall career at Kentucky.   

Larry Warford:  I think that it went pretty well for me overall.  I got to play as a freshman.  I got some experience early.  I have been playing at a pretty high level from my sophomore year up to now.  Our seasons obviously haven’t gone the way that we planned.  Overall, I am satisfied with what I have done so far.  Obviously there are things that I need to improve on.  I will try to improve those things from now up until pro day or these all-star bowl games.                       

Alex Khvatov:  How tough was it going through a two win season this year? 

Larry Warford:  It was pretty tough.  You want to win.  We were really a close team this year.  I have never seen a closer group of guys since I have been here.  Honestly, I liked every person on this team.  It was good to see how hard our guys would practice each and everyday.  We were losing, but we were still in there fighting.  We had a strong bond, and it got me through this tough season.                  

Alex Khvatov:  How difficult was it to see your head coach Joker Phillips get fired at the end of the season?   

Larry Warford:  It was hard.  He loves this program to death.  He has been with this program for the biggest part of his life.  He tried to do everything that he felt was right for this program.  It hurt to see him get fired.  It was hard to take.  I know that he will do his thing at Florida.  He obviously had a really good opportunity there.  I wish him the best of luck.  It was hard seeing him get fired though.  It took its toll on us.                                   

Alex Khvatov:  Is there a lot of excitement at Kentucky with Mark Stoops coming in?  Will he be able to turn the Wildcats program around? 

Larry Warford:  Yeah, there is a lot of excitement with coach Stoops coming in.  I hope that he can turn it around.  It is a new beginning for Kentucky.  We are one of the youngest teams in the nation.  We have a lot of young players.  It will be hard in the SEC to turn this program around as quickly as people might want.  But they have to stick behind him.  This team is so young.  It might take some time.  But I believe that he can do it.                            

Alex Khvatov:  What are your strengths on the football field?

Larry Warford:  I think that I do everything at a pretty high level.  I don’t want to just be known for run blocking or pass blocking.  I feel like if you want to be an elite player, you have to be an expert at your position.  I try to implement and work on things everyday at practice.                      

Alex Khvatov:  What areas of your game do you need to improve upon?

Larry Warford:  There are obviously things that I can still work on.  I can work on my speed.  I can get quicker.  I can shed a few pounds.  I need to work on my balance a little bit more.  I feel that I get overextended a little bit because I am trying to come off so hard when the ball is snapped and get that initial push.                

Alex Khvatov:  Do you think that you are a better run blocker than you are a pass blocker?

Larry Warford:  It depends on who you ask.  I love pass blocking.  I am not going to lie.  It is a little bit harder to do especially when you get to the NFL because there are so many things that can happen.  I think that I am a better run blocker right now because we run the ball so much here.  Two years ago, I was a better pass blocker because we were a passing team.  I guess that it depends on the offense that we are running.          

Alex Khvatov:  What is the highlight of your football career up to this point?

Larry Warford:  Probably the last scoring drive against Tennessee my junior year.  I had so much fun on that drive because we were coming off the ball and pushing them back.  You can see it on their face that they were mad and they wanted to win.  I told them after the game that I wasn’t using any type of technique.  I was just coming off the ball as hard as I can.  The defensive players at Tennessee said the same thing to me.  It was really emotional for us especially during my junior year because we weren’t going to a bowl.  That game alleviated all of that stress for that whole season.  It was a highlight for me when we scored that touchdown and won the game against Tennessee.                            

Alex Khvatov:  What separates you from all of the other players at your position?

Larry Warford:  I have seen film on Warmack and Barrett Jones.  They are really good players.  I feel that they have the same skill set that I have.  Honestly, the only thing that I can say is my knowledge and instincts of the game.  I also have a very high IQ for the game.  It is hard to know.  I haven’t practiced with those guys.               

Alex Khvatov:  What inspires you to play football?

Larry Warford:  My mom and my friends inspire me.  My friends got me into the game.  I was just playing football, not thinking that I can make anything out of it.  I found out that I was really good at it after I started to love the game and being passionate about it.  Then I saw this as an opportunity in being able to provide for my mom.  She lives in Samoa.  She needs help.  I would be so happy if I can give back to her what she gave me when I was younger.  I don’t want her to have to worry about anything else anymore.  That is really my job now.                   

Alex Khvatov:  What is your favorite NFL team?

Larry Warford:  Should I not say that.  It’s weird since I am from California, but I am an Eagles fan.  My cousin Paul who I didn’t meet till my senior year of high school was also an Eagles fan.  I like the Eagles because at one point they had all of my favorite players on the same team.  They had Brian Dawkins, Jevon Kearse, Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and Jeremiah Trotter.  I just said that I will go and root for this team.  I have been an Eagles fan ever since.                      

Alex Khvatov:  Who is your favorite NFL player?

Larry Warford:  Corey Peters is one of my good friends.  He is a former Kentucky player.  He plays for the Falcons.  I love the guy.                  

Alex Khvatov:  Which underclassman on your team should keep an eye on in the future?

Larry Warford:  QB Jalen Whitlow.  He had so much pressure that was being put on him this year.  Our QB guys were getting hurt.  He was basically thrown into the fire.  He struggled early on, but he kept improving as the season progressed.  Eventually, he was just comfortable.  He didn’t think too much.  He just played.  I believe that he will keep getting better.  He is a really confident athlete.  The sky is the limit for that guy.  He is a really good guy.                        

Alex Khvatov:  What did you enjoy the most about college football?

Larry Warford:  The friends that I got to make.  I talk to some of the guys who are in the NFL right now and they all say that it is a business.  Everyone is just rotating in and out.  You don’t get the same sense of family that you get in college football.  I have enjoyed the whole family atmosphere that we had here at the school especially with coach Phillips.  He wanted to have that strong bond with each other.  It is the most important thing.                

Alex Khvatov:  What does it take to be a leader?

Larry Warford:  Doing the right things.  You don’t have to be some big extrovert.  You don’t have to be the big vocal leader.  I believe that you simply have to do what is asked of you.  You have to buy into the program and what the coaches are telling you.  If the people see that, other players will follow.  It is the right thing to do.  It is just as simple as that.         

Alex Khvatov:  What is the greatest lesson that you have learned in life thus far?

Larry Warford:  It would probably be that leadership stuff.  That is what my major is in.  Actually, I want to rephrase it.  I guess that being a follower is okay as long as you are following the right people.  I know that it sounds weird.  I actually talk to my professors a lot on this topic.  I am actually majoring in leadership and development.  I told my professor that I am not a real big leader, but I am a good follower.  I think that I follow the right people, and it has brought me success so far.  It is one of the biggest things that I have learned.  You don’t have to be a leader, being a good follower is just as important.             

Alex Khvatov:  What are your hobbies?  

Larry Warford:  My favorite thing to do is football right now.  I play bass guitar.  My cousin and I go paintballing every once in awhile.  I like fishing.     

Alex Khvatov:  Where do you plan to train for the NFL Draft? 

Larry Warford:  I will be training in Arizona.  It won’t be at the big facility.  I will be training at the O-Line academy with LeCharles Bentley.  He played for the Saints.  He was a Pro Bowler.  I will be training with him. 

Alex Khvatov:  What do you plan to do with your life after football?

Larry Warford:  I want to take some classes and become an auto technician or a general mechanic after football.  I like working on super stuff like that.  I like working on cars.  It gives me a lot of time to think.  I am kind of an introvert.  I don’t like going to parties or doing too many social things.  Being a mechanic would fit my personality.          

Alex Khvatov:  Is the NFL a dream or a reality at this point?

Larry Warford:  It doesn’t seem real to me because it is not here yet.  I can’t say that it is a reality yet.  It seems kind of like a dream to me right now.      

Alex Khvatov:  What are you looking forward to the most during this whole draft process?

Larry Warford:  Probably working with other offensive linemen.  I want to know more about the game.  You learn a lot more about the game when you start training for the draft.  I am looking forward to it the most because there is a lot more that I can learn about defenses.  It would eventually help me become a better player.         

Alex Khvatov:  Larry, what five words best describe you?     

Larry Warford:  Soft-spoken, nice, aggressive on the field, caring and intelligible.