Post-game – Shrine Game Spotlight on Emmanuel Sanders

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders might be considered small – both in stature and in college size.

But that doesn’t stop him from making big plays on the field. Sanders was at the East-West Shrine Game and made his presence known in practice and in game situations, just as he did in his time on the field as an SMU Mustang. His numbers steadily increased throughout his time at SMU and he thrived under the tutelage of head coach June Jones, nabbing 98 receptions for 1,339 yards and seven touchdowns in 2009. Sanders knows he has to prove that size doesn’t matter when it comes to his performance on the gridiron and he’s working to do just that, both in this Shrine Game opportunity and later on at the NFL combine.

After the game he talked about his experiences at SMU and what it will take for him to continue on playing the game he loves:

What has this game and this experience taught you about yourself as you prepare for the next level?

I need to work more on my outside game. The past four years I’ve been playing the slot and I learned a lot from Keenan McCardell about how to play on the outside, how to set a guy and I’m just really excited I came to this game. The whole week has been fun, it’s been long with the interview process, but all in all it’s been great.

What kinds of things have you encountered in the interview process?

A couple interviews are 10 minutes, short, just want to know about family background and I had like two or three interviews that were in a room with a camera and personnel guys there; big time guys just looking to see me so that was just kind of very grueling with the answers but I think this whole week I’ve showed what kind of character I have and what kind of person I am. I think all of them went good.

Was it hard to prove yourself from a ‘small’ school? Did you have a chip on your shoulder coming in?

It’s not only a school it’s just me as a small receiver. They always say I’m 5’11”, 180, a bit undersized, on the next level I’m not going to be able to make it. I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder – everything I do. I come from a small school, in high school and in college. That had a little influence on it too.

You had great collegiate numbers though. Did you find yourself saying my resume speaks for itself?

No. I’m always going to be hungry. Even if I have 15,000 Pro Bowls and been to 15,000 Super Bowls I’m always going to stay hungry until I accept the fact that it’s time for me to back down from this game. So I’m always hungry. Yeah, I had 1,300 some yards this year and I feel like now it’s time for me to prove myself to the NFL so I can have 1,400 yards the next season and so I’m always trying to improve every year.

Does having June Jones as your coach help you in this process?

It has helped me so much. Coach Jones is an NFL coach. I mean, his offense isn’t an NFL pro-style but I feel like the right team, when it comes along, me playing in the slot, that’s when it’s really going to help me. Playing in this camp, playing in this game, it didn’t really help me but it didn’t hurt me because I played outside. Like I told you before, I’d never played on the outside so Keenan McCardell did a great job of helping me adjust. The first day I kind of struggled with it and as the week’s went on I started to get a little better and I feel like scouts started to see what kind of athleticism I had even though I’m not an outside receiver.

What does it mean to you as a player to be a part of this SMU team that went to a bowl game and had success when no one expected that?

It means a lot because I went to SMU to turn a program around and all four years, all five years, that’s been my goal. Let’s turn this program around. Now when they think about it they don’t think about the death penalty anymore, they think about that ’09 team that turned the season around and me being one of the main guys on the team, it feels real good. Now I have SMU on my back still even though I’m in a different jersey. I represent SMU and I’m going to represent it to the fullest.

[post-game interview conducted by colleague Jason Roberts of PRISM Press Group - freelantz sports' sister site]