CFB: Arquon Bush breaks down Bearcats career, previews NFL Draft
Preparing for the NFL Draft: "Day to day has usually been waking up to a couple of interviews then going to workout, doing a little bit of running, field work and gaming. Since the season ended, I had the East-West Game invite. I went out there and did that, which was meeting with different teams. Then I got the combine invite and that was meetings with teams, preparing for it and putting my talent on show for a lot of scouts. After the combine, it was pretty much just working out on my own or getting a couple guys together to work out. Just staying prepared for the call. I’ve been taking everything day by day. You can’t rush it. It’s not going to go any faster than it is so I just let it go how it goes. Just take everything second by second and let it come naturally."
Performance at the NFL Combine and Pro Day last month: "A bunch of people said I was going to run a 4.7 or something like that. I got to show off my speed and footwork in the drills at the Combine and Pro Day. I feel like it helped boost myself a little bit. The scouts are important because that’s who we’re showing our skills for but I was really just hyping my brothers up and trying to see them do the best they can. I’m cheering them on and we’re all cheering each other on. It was more about being with my brothers."
Expectations and plans for draft week: "We’re getting an AirBnb and all my family is going to be there. Draft day for me is more laid back. I’m going to watch it but I’ll probably just be walking around with family, playing games and stuff like that. Wherever God wants me to fall is where I’ll fall. I’m not really pressing. It is what it is at this point. You can’t change it. Everybody already knows who they’re going to get so hopefully I hear my name called on one of those days. If not, hopefully we get picked up after. I’m just looking for more of an aggressive defense that is willing to take risks and go get the ball. I like to get picks. That’s what corners do. I come up and tackle but I like to get picks so I’m looking for a defense that likes to go get the ball."
The biggest keys to his success: "My mom is my superhero. She does everything for me and makes sure I have everything I need. Even when there was no way to make something happen, she always made it happen. So I would say my mother is the person that kept me on track and that’s my backbone."
Decision to commit to Cincinnati out of high school: "Coach Luke Fickell had got the job at Cincinnati, and I wanted to stay close to home and close to my mom. It wasn’t too far, it’s a good school and I could go there and make a name for myself. Some of my favorite moments and memories are just being around the team and with the guys in the locker room. It’s a brotherhood. You have 100+ guys in the locker room and everyone is just talking, joking around and laughing. I would say I finished off my career the way I wanted to. I did everything I needed to do and I felt like I put myself in a good spot to play at the next level."
Switching from nickelback to cornerback: "Moving from inside to outside was different. I was starting nickelback for three years. In high school, I started playing nickel and my coach moved me out to cornerback so it was kind of the same thing. Playing corner is different because you get more run fits and you’re in the box more with nickel. I like playing nickel a little more than corner. It gives me versatility. I can go inside and outside. So I feel like I have the tools to play nickel because I know where to be in certain drops. I know how to guard people in the nickel spot and from corner. Even the boundary corner, I played when we faced Georgia. I can play all three positions so I feel like it prepared me to be ready if a coach told me to go play a spot then I can do it."
Breakout game against East Carolina: "Our nickel got hurt and I came into start against East Carolina when I had two interceptions and a pick six. That’s when I started to play the nickel position. I remember when I first walked out, coach Marcus Freeman asked if I was nervous and I said I don’t get nervous because it’s football, and I know I’m going to go out there and execute my job."
Turning point in win over Miami last season: "I came out sluggish and gave up the first touchdown on a deep ball over my head. The ball was in the air for a little bit but I gave up a touchdown. It is what it is. I knew I had to change my mentality going into the next time I got on the field. When I saw the ball in the air, I just went up to go get it and kept my feet in bounds. The offense did what they had to do, the defense picked it up and we did what we had to do to win the game. Momentum swings are everything in football. Whoever has momentum, that’s how the game goes."
Former teammates in the NFL: "Playing with all those guys was great. Everyone knew their job and it was healthy competition so we were all making each other better. I talk to Derrick Forrest, Coby Bryant and Ahmad Gardner a lot. I talk to Ahmad almost every day because we play games with each other all the time. I learned a lot from those guys. They told me just to be myself."
Bearcats hoping to get drafted this month: "Ivan Pace is a great and funny guy. He comes in and goes to work. Just plays around all day and is a jokester but if you need a baller at linebacker, that boy Ivan can play. Tyler Scott and Tre Tucker are like brothers. You don’t see one without the other. Two super fast guys so they help you learn how to guard someone smaller and fast, and that’s what the NFL is turning into. Playing with those two guys definitely helped my game a lot because I had to guard them all day in practice. I had to guard Tre in the slot when I was starting nickel then I went outside to guard Tyler a little bit when I was at corner. They were running a bunch of switch routes and stuff like that so getting that real speed on you helps a lot."
Photo Credit: USA Today.
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