We continue with the scouting combine, talking to the prospects, talking to the guys who are getting ready to join the NFL. Keldrick Falk, Auburn, Edge Rusher joins us now. Welcome, how are you? Man, I'm doing good. Blessed to be here. Yeah, what's it been like so far? I ain't gonna lie, the first day was like stressful. I was in medical for a long time, then we had meetings from 7. I had mine all the way to 10, 40, then get out to 11. So it was stressful, like me and everybody getting to see all the teams. Just a lot. It's a lot. I hear you. It was a lot. But it was enjoyable, though. I hear you there. I thought the same thing. I was like, damn, I got a big workout tomorrow, and they're working me to death here before the damn workout. I was stressed out going into my combine workout. And part of it that's got to be stressful, too, because it's got to be a new experience for the guys who are here, you've got to be on all the time. You've got to be ready to talk. You've got to be ready to pay attention. They're going to ask you questions, and they're judging you, and that's got to be exhausting from your perspective. It is, but it's what I expected coming into it. The biggest job interview of my life, and it's really what I prepared for coming up here. So it's really what I expected. You're interviewing them too. It doesn't just go one way. You're learning about these teams because at some point in your career you're going to be making decisions, and you're going to say, I remember this coach, I remember that time we had that thing, either he was nice, he was a jerk, whatever. it's going to be a factor down the road for you as your career develops. Don't be interviewing. I'm like, don't actually be interviewing like he said. But I'm just saying, file away. You're acquiring information because at some point you're the one making the choice, not them. Yeah, definitely that. You're right. I mean, it's a league. It's cyclical. You're going to see a lot of these coaches on different teams. You're going to see them again, no doubt about that. All right, 6'6", 285? Yes, sir. Damn. I did not realize you were that big. I did not. I'm just getting into the draft process here because I go from the NFL season into the draft, right? So I've only watched you a little, but I just had no idea. So 6'6", 285, and then when are you and Peter Woods going to have a squat-off competition? I mean, 700-pound squat? Yes, sir. We just had a video of him doing it. So what are we talking, 700-pound squat? Give me the bench. What are we at there? You've got a long damn arm. So, yeah, I probably hit .370 on the bench. Nothing crazy. All right. Okay. It said .415 on here. They gave you extra. You could have lied to me, and I would have been, all right, damn. Okay, yeah. But we'll take it. Yeah, we'll take that one. We doing the whole workout? Yes, sir. Yeah? Doing it all. Doing it all. Awesome. Awesome, man. So you said when you were in kindergarten you wanted to be a pro football player. At what age did you know you had the tools to get there? Once I hit the ninth grade. I was always bigger than everybody. I was always stronger than everybody. But once I hit the ninth grade and started to feel my body out a little more, that's when I kind of figured that I could make football a career for me. And then going to meet the different coaches in the league. Back then it was Coach Nick Saban. Yeah. So going to meet him for the first time, get my offer from him, it really kind of pushed that agenda for me to go and pursue football a lot more. Right. Yeah, you knew you had something there. What led you to Auburn? I mean, Nick Saban, you committed to Florida State. Right. Right? So what bag of money got you back to Auburn? It really wasn't a bag of money. I'm joking. It was more like my dad was a huge Auburn fan. And whenever I was making that decision, Coach Hugh Freeze and Coach JG, Jeremy Garrett, they just got to Auburn. I kind of knew them for a good two weeks before signing day and a couple days before signing day. I went to my pops' grave just to sit there and think about it. And ultimately, I just came up that night and I called them all up and said, I'm coming to Auburn, and then I signed the next day. Man, that's amazing. And I think we got a video of you and your brother at Auburn. that we can show here at some point, oh, there it is. I mean, that's got to be amazing to play with your bro college football. Definitely is. Little bro is everything. So I try to teach him everything I know. And I just try to show him the way. And the greatest thing about teaching him is he listens all the time. He don't take everything as he knows it all. He's always eager to learn. and someday he's going to be in this seat talking to y'all guys too. Yeah, well, you seem like you're the same way, so that doesn't shock me that he's like that too. Great quote about you from your high school coach. I've told every coach that came in there that Keldrick Falk is going to make millions of dollars one day if he never plays football just because of the kind of person he is and the way he conducts his business. That's pretty damn good. Yes, sir. That's Coach Pouncey. Shout out to Coach Pouncey. He was one of those guys where he always believed in. And no matter what I did, no matter what career I pursued, he was always the one that was like, he's going to be fine wherever he goes. Whatever school, he knew I was going to be fine. What the hell is in the water down in Alabama? You're like the sixth guy here today that's from Alabama, and none of them went to Alabama. And it's just like, holy crap. I mean, is the whole state a bunch of freaks like you? What the hell is going on down there? Man, this is how we are. We cornbread fed down there. I like it. Do you know you got a chance to be the first first-round pick from Auburn since? Yeah, a little trivia about your own school. Come on, War Eagle. Come on. Who is the last first-round pick from Auburn? I got to guess. I got to guess. Don't guess yet. Let's make him sweat. I want to see him under pressure. We haven't seen that yet. Scouts, check him out under pressure. Let see how he does Derrick Brown Hey there it is There he is There he is I was wrong You were wrong I was wrong All right so what about your game Do you look to, like, improve once you get to the NFL? I would like to improve my pass rush. That's one part of my game where I feel like I've gotten better over the years, which, you know, it's not bad at all, but I feel like it could be a lot better than what it is. You know, I've worked on expanding my moves, expanding my bag as far as pass rushing. Right. The biggest thing I need to focus on is actually finishing the top of the rush. And once I get that down, I'll be pretty good. That's your thing. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of nuance to pass rushing. People don't realize that, right? I mean, your whole life you've probably been able to physically dominate people, and now you've got a technique, hand placement, variety of moves, right? What's your go-to move? What was your go-to move last year? The long arm. Yeah, the long arm was always my go-to move, and that's the move I perfected. Show me. What do you mean? So I'm keeping this. I'm keeping near foot and near hand, and I'm driving it back. I'm pushing above, finish below, depending on wherever the QB is. So he's high on finishing above, and he's low on finishing below. So it's just like a speed to power move. Yes, sir. Speed to power. Just collapse the pocket. Yes, sir. Yeah, okay. What NFL team did you follow growing up? Who did you root for? That's the thing. I really didn't follow NFL football. And Alabama is only Auburn and Alabama. So that was the NFL team when I was growing up. Right. My uncle was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, though. Yeah. So whenever I went to his house, it was always the Cowboys zone. Yeah, yeah. So you don't have, like, did you have an NFL idol coming up as you started to be a pass rusher? Was there anybody you looked at? Were you always just looking at Auburn, Alabama guys? When I was in middle school, I watched a lot of J.J. Watt. Okay. Then whenever I got to high school, I watched a lot of Miles and Trey Henderson. Yeah, yeah. Right. Those are good ones to watch. You feel like everybody, I know you're an edge defender, right? But with your size, I mean, you're also going to be a guy that can kick inside and do that, right? So you're kind of hearing that from the scouts and the teams? Yes, sir. I'm hearing a lot of it. Some teams see me as a true is. Some teams see me as that guy that can go inside. And to be honest, it really doesn't matter. I can play all of it. Yeah, you don't care. Don't matter. Yeah, gotcha. Will you attend the draft if they invite you to Pittsburgh? that's something me and my mom we all trying to figure out now because he's going to be with the family no I haven't had the invite yet but it's a balance because you can be with a lot more of your family members and friends if you're home you go there a limited number of people can go with you a limited number of people you can celebrate with so it's you know we're still trying to figure that part out it would be great just to go there and get that experience because watching it on TV for a long time Yeah, man. It just seemed like it would be a cool thing to do. If you get invited, my two cents would be go. Yes, sir. I mean, that's just a special thing, like you said. Once in a lifetime. Damn, walk out there, put the hat on, do all that. I was a third-round pick, and I was pissed for the first two rounds because I wasn't one of those guys doing that. So, you know, do that right there. Yes, sir. Well, you weren't in the green room either. No, that's what I mean. I was mad I wasn't there. I wish I would have been there, right? I was mad at the whole damn thing. So what I'm trying to say is this is a special opportunity if you get it, right? You can go home and see the family and buy them a bunch of burgers and have a steak out and do all that after it's all done. Hey, say hi to mom or anybody else. This is your chance. It's your moment. Go. Yo, what's up, mom? What's up, JJ? I ain't going to lie to miss y'all. And when I get home, we got to go to Florida to the beach or something. Oh, you want to go to the beach? That's where I just came from. I was just down in Miami hanging out. I had to get away, too. Where's your suntan? What? I'm pretty tan. I mean, I'm usually this white. So I'm tan, okay? This is tan for me. All right. Off of that defensive lineman you look at right now in the NFL? Trey and Miles. Oh, you said Trey and Miles. My bad. I was thinking about young man Keldrick there for a minute. All right. Got anything else? No. No? That was it? That's good. What's your meal, your go-to meal that mom's going to cook? It's soul food. So my mom do like, whenever she's in the real mood for like throwing the whole dinner down, it'll be fried chicken, macaroni, and some collard greens. Damn. A little bit of cornbread. Yeah, a little bit of cornbread. Damn. I'd like to be at that cookout too. Cornbread fed everybody in Alabama. Lots of cornbread. Apparently. Lots of big guys taller than corn stalks. Just NFL defensive tackles walking around everywhere in Alabama. I mean, holy shit. Caldric, hey, man, congratulations on your success. All the best moving forward. Caldric Falk on his way to the NFL. We'll be back with more from the scouting combine right after this. Yes, sir. Continuing our coverage of the NFL scouting combine 2026. Joining us now, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Edge Rusher, David Bailey. If you watch the draft coming up, don't turn the channel early because you're going to hear his name quickly. No doubt. What's it like, man? What's it like to know that your dreams are about to come true? Yeah, I mean, it's surreal, man. I mean, I just – main thing is I just want to sit back and take it all in, you know, enjoy the process. I got a couple of my boys here, you know. We're having a lot of fun with this. So, you know, just enjoying it, man. What about, like, meeting all the coaches and all that, right? Yeah, that was a little bit stressful, I'm not going to lie. Yeah. Yeah, but honestly, even, like, the formal meetings, you know, you hear the word formal, you're a little bit, like, you know, on edge. But you get in there, man, and a lot of them are extremely chill, super personal questions, you know, just talking sometimes a little bit more ball. Sometimes they're not talking at all about ball. They just want to know about you, you know, your family life. So it's been good. It's been cool, man. Right. What's your approach in that situation when you're meeting these people for the first time? They know a lot about you. They've done their research. Questions are coming at you. How do you deal with that when you're in the middle of that? Sorry can you say that again Sure no I don know I don listen to them all the time Don worry When you going to meet with these teams and you know they know plenty of stuff about you and you just, like, what's your approach, what's your mindset when you're just kind of there and you just have to be ready for anything? Yeah, no, I mean, just being honest, like, just being myself. So, like, they ask me anything. I'm not trying to, like, you know, formulate some kind of, like, super, you know, technical answer. Like, I'm just being myself out there. Whatever they want to know, yeah, I'm telling them. And obviously I know they know a lot. A lot of people believe that the prospects show up like completely polished and rehearsed. But like, number one, when is there time for it? And number two, it's obvious when someone's trying to be something other than themselves. You've got the right approach. Just be yourself. Yeah, be yourself, exactly. That's all you can do. No doubt about that. All right, wait. Why are you smart? Why your defense ends aren't supposed to be that smart? I mean, what's up with that? Stanford? Yeah. They're not even the smartest guy in your family. Yeah, no, definitely not. Your brother went to Harvard, right? Yeah. So tell us about your little journey there and your brains because, yeah, it is interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, my mom has, like, street stress school since I was a kid. I mean, honestly, if you look at my report card from elementary school, it's terrible. You never would have thought that I was going to Stanford. I kind of just turned it on, like, the freshman year or, like, honestly, like, eighth grade. And it kind of just carried over throughout high school. So, no, I can't. I'm going to give you all, like, for real, like, the secret. A lot of it is just doing your homework, bro. You do your homework, bro. I'm not the best test taker. I'm not the best, like, presentation giver. But if you do your homework, you're consistent with your homework, you'll find your way to Stanford. I hear you. I see that with my son. My daughter's in college and my son in high school. It is half the battle. Yeah, exactly. It's the day of homework. Exactly. So we've got some video of your brother at Harvard. No way. Playing a little football. Come on, let's see. Have you been there to that stadium? I actually haven't. I didn't see a single. It's actually very cool. I assume that's 99 off the left edge and the ball's loose. Great history at that stadium. It is a cool one. I think you would even appreciate it, Mike. I mean, it's just been there forever. But, damn. So, Bro's younger than you? No, he's older. He's older. Yeah, he's older. Okay. What's the best thing you've learned from him? You know, I think just being explosive. As you get bigger, you got to make sure you maintain your speed and you stay explosive. So, I know he did a good job of that. Just giving this chance of success. So, yeah. What about, I'm interested in this because it feels like as a Longhorn who kind of keeps my eye on your school, blah, blah, blah. All right. But the Mahomes factor. Yeah. Right? Like it looks like ever since he became a star, the stadium improved. You know, the Adidas deal you guys got. Right? Talk about like him being around. Have you got to be around him and what he's done for the program? Yeah. So I actually haven't met him. But obviously all great things about him. No, no, he gave us that walk-through room, and that walk-through room was a major part of my success this year because I'm a visual learner. So, you know, I never really had anything like that where you can stand in front of this gigantic, gigantic screen. We got turf in there, and you can literally just walk through the place and actually, like, line up almost like you're in the game. So you're on a thing like this, the big screen's there. Big screen, it's super wide, you got turf. So we were always in there. Coach IU always had us in there. Even if we weren't using the screen, we were in there just in case. So, dude, that just helped me take my game to the next level, helped me visualize things a little bit better. That's cool. That's the new thing in the NFL is having that type of stuff for your walkthroughs. That's crazy because it didn't have it in my day, that's for sure. So 14 1⁄2 sacks in three years at Stanford, 14 1⁄2 sacks in one year at Texas Tech. What made that happen? Yeah, I didn't even know that. You know, I think it comes down to also just a different scheme, first of all. Like, I know if I'm playing off the ball linebacker, obviously I'm not going to be able to get after the quarterback as much. So that's one thing. But also just, yeah, like I said, like being more mature in terms of approaching the game. I knew it was my last year, so I knew I kind of just had to, you know, make something shake. So, you know, IU was obviously a big part of that success. Coach McGuire was a big part of that success, you know. And then also my D-line. I was going to say, you had some dudes. I had dudes, man. You did. That was the main selling point of Texas Tech was that, you know, you want to make sure you're not getting chipped and double teamed all the time. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, I know Melo took on a lot of that early on. And then, yeah, so, yeah. I mean, your team was framed around the D line, which is, you know, you don't see in college football a whole lot. Yeah. You guys play defensive football. Yeah. Off of that, you've met some people, like you said. It's a little stressful, all that. What do you hear so far from NFL people that they want to see you get better at? Yeah, for sure. I mean, everybody knows me as like explosive pass rusher. Definitely want to see if I can play the run consistently. me. So if you turn on the tape, you know, you have some great plays where it's like, oh, man, this guy knows how to play the run. Some other plays where it's like, ah, not so much. You know, it kind of is consistent there. So I just want to make sure I'm consistent with that. And I think that just comes down to being a better student of the game, learning the game more, also just becoming more explosive and athletic. So, yeah. Yeah. What is it about those run plays where you're like, ah, I could have given better? Is it just you were just so focused on quarterback and rushing? You kind of forget there? Yeah. It's also, it's a, you know, it's a lot of things. technique, where are my eyes for it before, what am I thinking about. Sometimes you're thinking about something else. What's that receiver doing? Why is he looking like that? I'm not focused on the man in front of me. It's a lot of things that I just got to get better at. Are you planning on attending the draft in Pittsburgh? I don't know yet. I really don't know yet. Have you gotten invited yet? I don't know, to be honest with you. You don't know? Yeah, I'm not. Okay, look at that. He's a Stanford and Harvard answer. Focus on now. I don't know. I'm here to focus on today. I'm giving 110%. There you go. I like it, man. You got a bright future, though. I appreciate that, man. I'm pumped, too. I've watched you a little because I'm just starting to watch guys in the draft process. I'm going to really study you. But I know you're a baller. Man, I appreciate that. We're going to let you go. Say hi to anybody you want to say hi to Shoot what up to my Texas people Stanford people What up to everybody back home so yeah All right David Bailey David Bailey On his way to the NFL On his way to kicking ass on quarterbacks We'll be back with more from the combine. Sure. More coverage at the scouting combine, more interviews with some of the guys who are heading to the NFL. Joining us now, Texas A&M edge rusher Cassius Howell, projected to be a top 20 pick. I mean, damn, pass rushers. Doing well. How about yourself? Great. Doing good, man. What's up? Where'd you grow up at? Kansas City, Missouri. When I raised. Kansas City, Missouri. Yes, sir. How'd you end up at Texas A&M? You know, just starting off with my recruitment out of high school, you know, I was kind of under-recruited, you know, things like COVID kind of played a factor. And, you know, me just kind of falling through the cracks of some of the, you know, the Power Five programs. So with that being said, you know, just at the end of my senior year, Bowling Green was really the only school at that point that was still, you know, showing interest in me. So, you know, I just kind of went with where I was wanted. Right. You know, I registered my first year at BG. And then my next year, you know, I kind of was starting to pick things up, starting to get in the mix a little bit. And then that last year I was able to, you know, earn a starting spot and, you know, ultimately be able to break out, which led me to enter the portal and take a risk on myself. And that's how I ended up at A&M. All right, cool. That damn A&M oil money got him down there. Man, for real. Yeah. Oh, so you weren't there. Eddie George is there now at Bowling Green, right? Is Eddie George there now? No, it's not Bowling Green. That's not it. I thought he was. Yeah, yeah, no. Eddie George is at Bowling Green. Yeah, that was after you left. You're right. Yeah, Coach Scott Leffler was my head coach at Bowling Green while I was there. Gotcha, gotcha. All right, so growing up, who was your guy to watch? Like who was your idol NFL football-wise? You know, I didn't start playing defensive end until my sophomore year of high school, but I think the main guy that I used to like to watch was Ray Lewis. Okay. I feel like, you know, I like the type of intensity that he had brought to the game, and, you know, I just liked the way he was, and I wanted to emulate his game and his intensity. Yeah, all right, but you're on the edge, and you've been down there at A&M with some freaking ballers. Yes, sir. Right? I mean, you had, what, my guy that went to Cincinnati last year in the first round? Shemar Stewart. Shemar Stewart. Thank you for helping me. And then Skorton, who's on Carolina early second round, right? So how much do you keep in context? What is it about the culture there right now that's making you guys be this damn good as Aggies? I feel like, you know, obviously, you know, the staff, you know, the strength staff and, you know, nutrition, just all the people that are, you know, involved in, you know, building us up as football players. And I feel like that's, you know, the main part. And, you know, our successes, you know, especially within, you know, our position at, you know, playing an addresser. And as far as, you know, staying in contact with those guys, you know, I'm definitely in contact with Shamar here and there. You know, I'm definitely in contact with my guy, Nick Scorton. You know, we've talked a lot. And, you know, I feel like he's definitely, you know, helped me, you know, through this whole process and has allowed me to understand what to expect within this process. Yeah. SEC Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-American. And one of the reasons against Utah State week one, we got the video. Three plays. Three in a row. Three sacks. They called it the immaculate possession. That's amazing. After the first two, were you thinking I could get another one? Yeah. I mean, honestly, you know, after that first two, you know, I'd obviously got two in a row. I think that was the first time I'd ever got two in a row. So, at this point, you know, energy's flowing. You know, this is third down. This is my down to, you know, get home to the quarterback. So, I just told myself, you know, if they were to try to drop back and pass, you know, I'm going to try to do everything in my power to get to the quarterback. And, you know, God willing, you know, I was able to do that. Yeah, that would have been a good spot for a draw play by the offense. Was it the same guy trying to block you all three plays? Yes, sir. Oh, boy. What are we working out? Yes, sir. I plan on doing everything. You can do everything. Yes, sir. Damn. I mean, give us a gauge because you're explosive as hell, right, 40-wise. I mean, not that I don't want you to put it out there, but where are you range? What are you going to be happy with? I'm going to be happy with anything under a 4-5. Yeah, that's what I figured you were going to say. You give me. Do you know Nick Benito? Do you know that name? Yeah, yeah, most definitely. Denver Broncos. Right, yeah. You kind of give me vibes of that a little bit. I haven't got to deep dive you yet. I'm in my early phases here. Yes, sir. But have you heard that before, being that kind of player? Yeah, I've heard a few similarities between us as a player. That's a great honor to be able to have such a guy by high caliber to be compared to myself. All right. Yeah, he's kicking butt. Most definitely. Yeah, that oil money's big, but that money he's making now is bigger. No, it's real. Way bigger than that. It's different. For sure. For sure. Were you a Chiefs fan growing up in Kansas City? Yes, sir. Growing up, I was there. A fan whenever we was going through the dog days. Matt Castle, just trying to get it all figured out. So, of course, I had to stay on that bandwagon whenever we started winning the Super Bowls and stuff like that. That'd be like the dream come true. I know you play for anybody. You're excited to be in the NFL. But would that be your dream come true spot? I had mine. Mine was the Giants. I grew up around. My dad played for the Giants. Yeah. Right? I mean, I don't know if I would necessarily consider it a dream come true. So, like I said, I'll be blessed and completely honored to play for anybody in the NFL at this point. Who, like so far when you talk to scouts and these meetings and doing all that, right, what's your feedback, right? What's the thing they love about you and what's the thing they go, hey, can you think you can get better in this area? I feel like the thing that overall they love about me is my motor, my energy, my play in, play out. like I said, just motor to be able to just continue to keep going and provide forth the best effort and just be the best player that I can be along with my pass rush ability and to be able to craft and be able to make plays at a high level. The thing that I feel like overall I feel like I can get better at is just my technique within my run defense. I'm obviously not a perfect player, not a perfect person at any way, shape, or form, but I feel like my technique, things like my hand placement, my footwork, and my anchor could definitely improve as I head into the next level. You going to be at the draft? Like the green room? Yeah. I'm not really sure yet. I was just kind of trying to take it one step at a time. After I finish all this stuff up, that's when I'm going to probably start considering what I'm going to actually do. Yeah. All right. Well, Cassius, we wish you all the best. Congratulations on your success at Texas A&M and at Bowling Green before that. All the best in the NFL. Do it with me. No. This. Do this. Hors down. Hors down, baby. All right. We'll be back with more.
