Don’t call him rookie

First-year Raider Clelin Ferrell has come prepared for your Khalil Mack comparisons, No. 4 pick gripes and any other unreasonable expectations.

BY JERRY McDONALD

The Raiders surprised some people by taking Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 in the NFL Draft.

Not that the Ted Hendricks Award winner wasn’t a great player for national champion Clemson. It’s just that most people pegged him as a mid-to-late firstround pick since Khalil Mack, for example, had gone No. 5 overall.

Ferrell, the youngest of nine kids, sat down to discuss the term “rookie,” criticism over how high he was drafted and the pressure to live up to Mack’s legacy.

You don’t like being called a rookie. How come?

My coaches don’t like it, either. It’s just a mindset. For me, it’s all about proving yourself to your teammates. That term has a connotation of having an excuse for why you might be doing bad. I don’t want nobody to make no excuses for me. If I mess up, if I’m not doing well, then that’s on me. You want to be a leader right off the bat. Today at practice both Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock came up to you for a few words before practice. Isn’t that a lot to put on your shoulders?

Nah, the biggest thing is just being me. Being a leader isn’t just being the most vocal guy or being the guy in the room that tells people what to do. In my room, with my group of guys, I feel like being a leader is helping to empower others. We’ve got a lot of guys that haven’t been leaders before. It’s really for me to empower other

Clelin Ferrell has high expectations for upping the Raiders’ sorry sack total from a year ago.

RAY CHAVEZ/STAFF

guys and motivate other guys to be a leader and hold me accountable.

You grew up with two parents with military backgrounds. Do you feel that makes you a leader?

It had an effect because I see the type of leaders my parents were. But though they both were in the military, it wasn’t really that much of a military-type atmosphere growing up. I would say more so, my mom sending me to a military high school (Benedictine College Prep in Richmond, Virginia) to learn the different traits and assets of what being a leader really means. It’s not just about hearing a drill sergeant yelling at you. It’s about motivating others and helping each other focus on maintaining a common goal. As far as growing up, my parents treated me like a normal kid.

You were the youngest of nine kids...

One of nine, right. It’s hard to really keep your eyes on all the kids. I was the baby, so everybody felt like I was kind of spoiled a little bit. I don’t. My brothers and sisters were hard on me.

Did you hate military school?

I hated it my first two years. I literally was about to be at the school protesting the military. But coming into that high school, I would say internally I didn’t have a lot of discipline as a man. I was a bit rebellious, kind of wanted to be with my boys from the neighborhood. But I really learned about integrity and character and being disciplined, and it helped me to grow up, Any time a kid’s got to grow up, it’s hard for them.

As one of nine kids and the son of career military parents, Clelin Ferrell is comfortable being himself.

What do you say when people say, “Ferrell is pretty good, but not at No. 4. It’s too high.”

I don’t say nothing. I had that in college, where you hear the talk, good and bad about somebody. But you can never listen to it. The biggest thing is after this season you won’t be able to tell if I was worth the pick whether I have a good or bad year. Come back to me 10 years from now, at the end of my career, and tell me if I was worth it.

You’re the highest defensive pick here since Khalil Mack at No. 5 in 2014. And also a defensive end. Think Raider fans are going to look at that?

I hope not. I’m not Khalil Mack, but Khalil Mack isn’t me. We can’t be each other. He brings things to the table, and so do I. Respect to a great, great player. A guy I looked up to coming out of high school and college. He’s on a completely different team, and I’m just focused on the Raiders now. So I hope Raiders fans welcome me with open arms.

The Raiders had just 13 sacks last season. Coaches have been reminding the defense about it. Does that motivate you?

Hell yeah, that’s motivating. We’re trying to shatter that number. The best part about that is that this group didn’t get 13 sacks last year. It was last year’s group. But this D-line hasn’t proved anything yet, and we’ve got a lot to prove and have set high goals for ourselves.

Your family watches you closely from afar. Did you get a good review from them after the Rams preseason game?

My brothers definitely got on me about making more plays. They want me running to the ball more. And they were wondering why I wasn’t in on special teams. I told them I didn’t know why coach didn’t put me out there because I’ve been playing them in practice.