Friday night’s conference call between local reporters and Panthers second-round pick Devin Funchess.

RE: Reaction to being drafted“I was just waiting on the call. I was excited and everyone around me was excited. I have a lot of family back in North Carolina so everybody was excited that I got the call. Some of my family members are up there too.”RE: Where his North Carolina roots are“We stay in the country, Mebane. It’s in Mebane, North Carolina.”RE: What family members are in North Carolina“It’s mostly on my mom’s side, and my grandfather on her side.”RE: If his mom is from Mebane“Yes, sir.”RE: Questions about his speed“That’s close to what I usually run, but most people just say all my film speaks for itself, and my game speed is faster than the 40-yard-dash time.”RE: Whether he got tired of answering questions about speed“No, I guess I just told myself in those situations, like running at the combine, I let my actions speak louder than my words. That’s what I did on my Pro Day.”RE: Carolina moving up to draft him“I just want to thank the Panthers organization for doing that. The owner Mr. (Jerry) Richardson, Coach (Ron) Rivera, and GM Mr. (Dave) Gettleman. I just want to thank those guys for doing that, and giving me that phone call, because it was a blessing in itself.”RE: Using his size to play wide receiver“All of it’s God given, I use that and the techniques that I am taught. I go up there and get like a rebound like my old basketball days.”RE: His thoughts of being clearly defined as a wide receiver“Yes, that’s the position that I went into the NFL trying to play. So I am real blessed and happy to say that the coaches want me to play that as well.”RE: Playing alongside Kelvin Benjamin“It’s not just him, it’s all the other wide receivers that we have too. We have the vet (veteran) Ted Ginn, he’s been playing for a while. We have Jerricho (Cotchery) he’s there too, and we have little ‘Philly’ (Corey) Brown, he is there as well. I am just ready to work with all of them, just learn from them, the different techniques, and get me NFL ready.”RE: The presence of two big receivers causing matchup problems“Yes, just being that tall, and that physical. I think that will be a big mismatch up in the NFL.”RE: Playing with Ohio State University players, having played at Michigan“It’s OK, I think the rivalry as it was at Michigan, but I’m not up at Michigan. They’re going to be my teammates and I am going to be ready to play with them.”RE: If any teams saw him as a tight end“Not really, everybody watched the tape. Like I said, I let my actions speak louder than my words. They watched the tape, and most of them, and all of them were really saying wide-out, they wanted me at the wide-out. They would be able to move me around.”RE: What he needs to improve on“It’s going to be everything; I don’t have a feel for the league right now because I just came from college. Once I get a feel for it, then we will just nitpick and see what I do need to get better at.”RE: What teams told him he needed to improve on“The one team that just picked me told me just using my athletic ability, and I need to work on getting in and out of the breaks.”RE: His toe injury last season“That’s good. We’re back healthy and ready to roll.”RE: If he had surgery“No, no surgery was needed. They said it wasn’t needed.”RE: Playing with Cam Newton“That’s an explosive guy, he is athletic, very talented and gifted from the man upstairs. I’ve been watching him since he was down at Auburn, or Florida before that. I watched at Auburn and I loved what he did at Auburn. Then he comes into the league and makes his own mark. So I just love him as an individual and a football player.”RE: If he has heard from Cam Newton tonight“My phone’s been ringing off the hook, so I have not been through any messages yet. He might have hit me up, I don’t know. A lot of unsaved numbers are hitting me up.”RE: Whether anyone in this draft had his combination of size and speed“Nobody, I was the only one I guess, because of what I can do. Most of the wide-outs just play one position; I can play it all.”