Although he says Howie Long was his role model, Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt sounded a lot more like the Lions' Kyle Vanden Bosch on Saturday.
"I am a tenacious, relentless defender," he said during his news conference at the NFL Combine. "I am never going to stop. I go 110 miles per hour on the field at all time because I feel that's what the game deserves. I would never disrespect the game by taking a play off. That's just how I approach it."
The Lions are among the 20 teams taking a hard look at Watt. While general manager Martin Mayhew isn't one to show his cards when it comes to the draft, he does occasionally drop clues.
While extolling the depth and talent of this year's crop of defensive linemen on Friday, he said, "There are a lot of intriguing guys there. There are a lot of good defensive ends who have a lot of versatility. They are defensive ends but they can also rush from the inside. That's definitely an area we will look to address."
Watt fits that mold. He is 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds. Presently, he looks as lean as a tight end, which he played for two seasons at Central Michigan before beefing up and transferring to Wisconsin.
"I can play just about anywhere, but where I feel most comfortable is at defensive end because that's where I've been playing," he said. "But I can play inside or outside. I think that versatility will help me out."
He said he is comfortable at a lean 290 pounds -- there was very little body fat on him -- but he said he is also comfortable playing at or over 300 pounds.
"I am lean now but I can put on weight easily and get more power into my game," he said.
Watt posted 21 tackles for loss for the Badgers last season, 36.5 in his two seasons. With his height, reach (34.5-inch arm reach) and hand size (11 1/8 inches), he also was adept at batting down passes and altering passing lanes.
"Watt is an ideal fit as a strong side 4-3 defensive end but some may like him more as a 3-4 end," wrote NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock in his synopsis of Watt. "A hard-working, intelligent, relentless player but does not have elite fluidity or burst. Uses his hands extremely well to get off blocks, both rushing the passer and against the run. Doesn't possesses great initial quickness but closes hard and fast on the quarterback and has enough straight-lined speed to pursue from the backside.
"Watt will give you everything he's got, and should be a first-round selection."
Watt was a 6-4, 228-pound tight end when he signed with Central Michigan. Two years later, he was up to 250 pounds and looking for a different way to get to the NFL.
"I liked CMU and I liked the system, but it wasn't working out," he said. "I was playing tight end in a spread offense."
He transferred to Wisconsin, but all coach Bret Bielema could offer him was a walk-on spot.
"That transfer was an all-or-nothing situation where I wanted to play in the NFL and I felt going to Wisconsin gave me the best opportunity," he said.
He was aware, of course, that Central Michigan had four players competing in the Super Bowl last month.
"Yeah, I know, I was really happy for those guys," he said. "But that wouldn't have happened, getting a chance to play in the NFL wouldn't have happened for me had I not transferred."
Watt had to pay his own way his first year at Wisconsin, and he helped do that by working at a Pizza Hut.
"I asked Coach Bielema if I could walk on and he said sure but there were no guarantees," Watt said. "And I said what do I need to do to earn a scholarship and he said I needed to be in the two-deep on the depth chart. I said I will be there by the end of my first season."
And he was.
"It was a humbling experience," he said. "People ask me if I would go back and change it if I could and I say, there's not a chance in the world because I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't have the character I have, the work ethic or the drive that I have if I didn't go through those experiences. I am who I am because of those experiences."
Other defensive end prospects who show the same inside-outside versatility include Ohio State's Cameron Heyward and Temple's Muhammad Wilkerson.
