Q&A with former UNC tight end Eric Ebron

Eric Ebron, a former North Carolina tight end, participated in the NFL Combine last week. Ebron is ranked by many draft experts as one of the nation’s top tight ends and looks to be taken in the first round. Sports Editor Michael Lananna spoke with Ebron on Friday.

The Daily Tar Heel: Since you’ve declared for the draft, has the process been how you expected it to be?

Eric Ebron: It’s not really been what you thought it would be, you know? As a kid what you expect out of the NFL is not exactly what you’re getting into. It’s been nothing but a grind just like as if you were still in college. It’s been a journey. It’s been a process — a long process. You have training for combine, then after the combine, you have training for pro day, then you have to train for the NFL season. There’s different things that you have to accomplish.

DTH: What kind of toll does that take on you physically and mentally?

EE: Nothing. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. We have a lot more free time. We don’t have study hall. We don’t have classes. So there’s nothing really that takes a toll. It’s just all about maintaining and prioritizing and making sure that everything you’re doing is right.

DTH: What was the training process like going into the combine? Was it maybe more rigorous than you were used to?

EE: Yeah, it was definitely more of a demanding kind of working out Usually when you’re working out, you’re building daily. This was about how fast and how quickly you can make something happen. So we were really just grinding. It wasn’t really wear and tear, but it was really just like pushing for you to mentally and physically get better in a short period of time. So it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, either.

DTH: How do you feel about your combine results?

EE: I felt like I did OK. I felt like I did good. It’s somewhere in between OK and good, simply because I wasn’t able to finish. But I felt like I displayed somethings that they were looking for, which is exactly how fast I really am, which I could’ve ran faster, but we had issues. I felt like I displayed enough of strength and speed if what they were looking for to really just solidify exactly who I am and what they’re getting … I’m not disappointed in it, but I’m not really happy with it, either.

DTH: How is your hamstring?

EE: It’s good now. I’ve just been resting it, doing what I was supposed to do, what the trainers tell me to do, and just waiting for pro day to display my real talents.

DTH: If not for the hamstring, do you think would’ve ran a faster 40 than (former Tar Heel) Gio Bernard? I know you said you were going to.

EE: Yeah, I definitely would have. I ran a 4:50 flat, with a pulled hamstring, so I’m not too mad at it. I could’ve definitely ran faster. My official time was a 4:60, but my unofficial time was 4:50 … It let me know that I was faster than I thought he was.

DTH: What did Gio have to say about that?

EE: All he did was just call me slow. He texted and said, “You still slow.” And that was it.

DTH: You were out there with a few Tar Heels. What was it like to share in that experience with them and to see what they’re doing, too?

EE: Yeah, it was fun. Me, Bryn, Russell and James Hurst, we were all out there on the same day. So we were all just talking, chopping it up. We were just enjoying that moment, knowing what we’ve been through, what we’ve accomplished throughout our seasons as Tar Heels. It was just a great feeling to know that we’re doing something that we love doing and take it to the next level.

DTH: It looked like Russell put on a show on the bench press.

EE: Man, he did more than a show.

DTH: With everything you know right now, how optimistic are you about your draft status and where you might go?

EE: Honestly, I personally don’t care. Deep inside, I don’t care about any mock drafts or anything. Can’t no one design a draft that they know what’s in each general manager’s heads or what they want to do. It can be a spur-of-the-moment type thing. So, honestly, I cannot pay attention, and I hate mock drafts as of now because nobody knows what they’re talking about. All I can do is sit and wait for draft day, whether I’m in New York or I’m at home with my family and just wait to see what team I go to and what’s my next mission in life.

DTH: What’s support been like from Chapel Hill, coach Fedora and the other members of the coaching staff?

EE: I mean, it’s been crazy. They just want to know the ins and outs. They want to hear everybody’s experiences. And they definitely follow up about my experiences just because of the things that I’ve accomplished with them and the things that they think and believe I can accomplish at the next level. They’ve been behind me 1,000 percent, especially coach Fedora, checking on me. He was the first one to text me after I ran my 40 and ask me what was wrong and how I was doing and things like that, so they’ve got my back 1,000 percent.

DTH: The last few years for UNC football have been a whirlwind in a lot of ways. How are you going to remember your time as a Tar Heel?

EE: I mean, it’s been a process. I’ve had ups and downs unbelievably. It’s just a good feeling to see the bright side of everything. I wasn’t a guy to fall into the dark side. I actually came out on top. I feel like my journey there was one I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through, but I’d definitely do it again if I could.

sports@dailytarheel.com