NFL Draft 2010: UCF DT Torell Troup was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round. Credit: Orlando Sentinel.

UCF defensive tackle Torell Troup was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the ninth pick of the second round of the NFL draft.

He was the 41st overall selection of the NFL draft, going ahead of many high-profile prospects including Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

“It feels really good to be a member of the Bills,” Troup said during a teleconference with reporters.

Troup, who is 6-foot-3 and 314-pounds, started 39 of his 47 career games for the Knights. He finished with 105 tackles, including 24 for a loss. He was named the All-Conference USA second teams his junior and senior seasons, a designation that bothered both Troup and UCF coach George O’Leary. The coach pointed out Troup drew heavy double teams throughout his career that freed his teammates to make big plays, but the league coaches seemed to make award decisions based on statistics.

Troup was UCF’s sole player invited to participate in the NFL Combine. He finished tied for third among defensive linemen in the bench press by lifting 225 pounds 34 times. He beating first-round draft pick Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, who completed 32 repetitions. Troup also ran 40-yard dash times of 5.10 and 5.16, solid numbers for a defensive tackle.

“I am very happy for Torell and his family,” UCF coach George O’Leary said. “He is very deserving of this opportunity as a player and I think it is great that he will get this chance to pursue his goal and dream of playing in the NFL.”

Troup is the second highest draft pick in school history. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, UCF’s sole first-round draft pick, was picked by the Minnesota Vikings with the 11th selection in the 1999 draft. Troup also is just the second Knight to be picked in the second round. St. Louis picked cornerback Travis Fisher in the second round, using the 64th overall pick of the 2002 draft.

Entering the 2010 draft, Troup said he was told by scouts he could go as high as the second round and as low as the fourth depending on team needs. He spent the past month doing individual workouts with a long list of teams. National analysts, however, identified Troup as a likely third to fifth round selection.

The Buffalo Bills produced this highlight video featuring some of Troup’s greatest hits.

Troup joins former UCF offensive tackle Cornell Green on the Buffalo roster. Green signed a contract with the Bills in March 2010.

Here’s the transcript of Troup’s teleconference with reporters after being drafted:

On his style of play:
“I’m more of a two-gap guy in our system in college. We ran a 4-3 but I was a two-gapping nose tackle that took on a lot of double teams and helped the linebackers make plays. I kept my linebackers playing on the field and I did my job really well.”

On playing in the 3-4 system:
“I have no problem with that at all. I’m not a selfish player and to play nose tackle, you can’t be a selfish player. I feel like I can do all the things that they ask me to do.”

On the level of contact he had with the Bills leading up to today:
“I talked to them a few times, not that much. Other than talking to them a few times, I didn’t really have much contact with them.”

On being an overshadowed pick:
“It’s a great feeling. I don’t get much publicity, I don’t play a glory position. So sometimes guys at my position get overlooked and I feel like I was a bit overlooked this year. For the Bills to grab me at the beginning of the second round is a great feeling and that tells me that somebody is paying attention to all the hard work that I’m putting in and my great work ethic.”

On if he’ll be able to be an every-down player:
“It’s going to be a big change. There’s better competition, stronger guys. Some offensive linemen are in the 30s, I’m a young guy, I’m 22. But I feel like we’re going into camp and I’ll get some experience so I’ll be OK. It’s going to be a long grind for me but I’m willing to put in the work and I have no problem working hard every day. I’ll come to work every day with my hard hat.”

On not playing football until high school:
“Yes, I didn’t start playing until my freshman year of high school. When I went and talked to my head coach, he said I’ll be a defensive tackle and he stuck me at nose tackle and I’ve been there ever since.”

On his conditioning:
“When I came into college, I was 350 (lbs.) so I couldn’t play as many plays my freshman year. I would play two or three plays and then I’d have to come out. After my freshman year of college, I talked to my head coach about what I needed to do to become a better player. And the one thing I needed to do was cut weight. He said he wanted to see a drastic change in my weight to be able to play more plays because he needed a physical player on the field all the time. I just took it one year at a time. My sophomore year I played at 330 (lbs.), my junior year I played at 320 (lbs.) and my senior year I played at 315 (lbs.). I constantly worked in the weight room and was constantly running on my own to build my conditioning because I knew how it was to be a 315-pound guy and if you’re not conditioned, it’s hard to go that fourth quarter, especially if you’re getting double teams. So that makes me work even harder because I know it’s going to come on the field.”

On what he hopes to work on in terms of his technique:
“I’ve been working on that part of my game every day this offseason. Since after the combine, I’ve been going through bag drills, working hand drills, trying to get my hands quicker and the muscle memory to fire faster. Hopefully when I get to this next level, I have some great coaches and they’ll be able to teach me a couple other things technique-wise. I know I still have a lot of work to go with my technique and I’m willing to learn. I’m a sponge, I want to take in anything and everything. So hopefully with my experience, I’ll become a great player overall.”

On his work ethic:
“I love the work. If I feel like anybody is working harder than me, then I’m mad at myself. I work all day, every day. You can catch me up at two in the morning running two miles, so I don’t shy away from hard work at all.”

On his parents’ impact on him:
“Everything that I’ve done so far leading up to this is for me, but also for my parents. My parents work very hard, they’re good people and they didn’t have the opportunities that I have. They had me at a very young age. My mom was 15 and my dad was 16 so they weren’t able to do the things they wanted to do because they had to raise kids. So every day when I get out of bed it’s motivation to get up and be better than them, even though they’re good people, I want to make them proud and do anything in my power. I’m not going to let anything hold me back from making them proud.”