Just got off a phone call with cornerback Walt McFadden, who was selected by the Oakland Raiders today in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Here's what he had to say:

(Talk about your day)

"It's a blessing to have the opportunity to be drafted. So many people are playing college football, you know, from all across the world, to have the opportunity it's just a big blessing for me."

(Where did you watch it?)

"I watched it at home with my family at Pompano Beach, Fla."

(Your feelings as you watched it?)

"I tried to take it as a situation where there are a lot of people that weren't in my opportunity to come from the bottom and have a chance, being snubbed from the combine and everything. I just look at is I was blessed to be part of the top players once they put out the final rankings. And I kind of took it that way. But the nervous part came from just talking to teams and they say they're going to get you and they don't get you."

(Were you surprised by who took you?)

"In a way I was kind of surprised, but it was more like being happy about the situation. Because Quentin Groves, a former Auburn Tiger, he just got traded to the Raiders. I felt like just having him there is a good atmosphere for me to watch what he's doing. To have him as a backbone to get through my first year, just having some kind of friendship already."

(Jason Campbell got traded to the Raiders too)

"Yeah, I just heard that today. When I came in as a freshman to Auburn, he was just leaving. But I talked to him a couple times when he did come back to speak with the team and tell us his goals and how he did it. It's a great opportunity to be there with him."

(Did you work out for the Raiders before draft?)

"Naw, I never worked out for them. I had a visit with the Raiders. And I guess my visit went pretty well." (Laughs)

(How did you hear you got drafted?)

"Basically you get the phone call. They start speaking with you and say, 'Do you want to be a Raider?' I just automatically say yes because it's a dream come true. I tried to play it off with my family like nothing happened. And they were all asking me what was with the call. I was like, 'No, no. That wasn't the call. That was my friend.' And then it came up on the TV and everybody started jumping on me and kind of being made that I tried to hold it in."

(Was this an interesting day for your family with your brother, Bryant, being traded back to Steelers?)

"He had his football camp today, and it started around 2 o'clock. And that was about the time where I got picked up. It was around the time that he had just found out he was going back to Pittsburgh. I think he's still pretty good about the situation. He wished, from speaking with him, that he wished Arizona the best. He wished he could have had one more season with them to help out. But he feels like he's going back home now."