Chicago Bears' center Hroniss Grasu conference call transcript

The Chicago Bears added some depth to the interior of their offensive line by picking Oregon center Hroniss Grasu in the with the 71st overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft.

After hearing his name called he met the media for the first time as a professional football player. The following are snippets from that conference call.

Grasu was teammates with Bears' pro bowl offensive guard at Oregon during the 2012 season and he was asked if he had any stories from their time together.

"I remember when he first came in, I was like, this guy is just a freak. He's a monster. He was always the type of guy that would sacrifice his entire body for his team. I just wanted to learn as much as I [could] from him. Definitely achieved that and can't wait to play with him again."

Grasu had minor surgery on his left leg in November of 2014 and he was asked when he was finally healed up. He was also asked if he had any pre-draft meetings with the Bears.

"My foot, after surgery, I played two games on it. It was seven weeks post-op exactly for the Rose Bowl Game and it's a 12 to 16 week recovery and I played after seven weeks. It felt really good during the game. I thought I showed explosiveness during that game as well as in the National Championship Game. Then at the Combine, I was still rehabbing the ankle. I still wasn't quite 100 percent, but at Pro Day was when I showed a lot of teams I was healthy, being able to plant that foot, cut on it going full speed.

"For the Bears [to pick me], it's just a dream come true. I was always asked if there was one team that you want to go to, I always told people I'm not saying because I don't want to jinx it. My dream came true. I always wanted to go the Bears. I always wanted to play for Chicago. I want to play with Kyle [Long] again. It's such a great organization and such a great team. I'm truly blessed.

Speaking of the Rose Bowl, Grasu faced his new Bears teammate, Eddie Goldman in that game.

"I did. He's a very, very good player, very explosive. He's a player I have a lot of respect for. Going into that game, I knew he was going to be a huge challenge to go up against him. I thought both of us had a really good game on each other."

Grasu was asked what his strengths are coming into the league.

"I have a lot of things I need to work on, first and foremost, but my strengths are I'll do anything for the team. I'm all about the team. Whatever it takes to win a ballgame. Whatever it takes to get the first down, I'll do whatever it takes. Knowledge of the game, I feel I have good amount of experience coming from Oregon. Going in and playing with Kyle, Kyle's my best friend, he's a brother to me. Our relationship is unbelievable. It was like that at our time at Oregon and now being able to continue that, it's unbelievable."

With his former head coach Chip Kelly having success with the Eagles, he was asked if the NFL is moving toward an offensive system similar to the one at Oregon and if that benefits him.

"Yeah. At Oregon, when you play offensive line, it just comes down to moving a guy that's lined up in front of you from point A to point B. I think we've done that pretty well at Oregon. There's a reason why we've been leading the Pac-12 in rushing yards. We've had very talented guys at running back, quarterback, and wide receivers that make our jobs much easier. But our game at Oregon, our tempo, I think will really help out in Chicago because I was always asked to make a lot of decisions under a short amount of time, a matter of six or seven seconds. Being able to do that with the other four offensive linemen just makes it so much easier. I can't even put into words how excited I am to continue my journey with the Bears."

For what it's worth, Oregon runs a zone blocking scheme and that's what the Bears will run this under the new coaching regime.

Grasu started every game of his collegiate career at center, but he was asked if he anticipates learning guard with the Bears.

"I anticipate playing any position they want me to play. I'm going to anticipate it all. Whatever position they want me to play, I'll play. If they tell me to hop on one leg on the sidelines for an entire practice I'll do so. Whatever it takes."

Grasu seems generally excited to be drafted by the Bears.