Slade Norris is a senior and first-year starter at defensive end for Oregon State.

He is known for his ability to pressure the quarterback and get sacks.

Norris had nine sacks for the Beavers last year and is currently fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference with 4.5. He is also fourth in tackles for loss with eight.

Q: You went to Jesuit High School. Did you grow up in the Portland area?

A: I'm actually from Washington. I grew up in Battle Ground, Wash., and then I went to school at Jesuit. So I'm kind of a native of both, I guess. Born in Portland.

Q: Did you play football as a youth in Battle Ground?

A: Clark County Youth Football. I started in fourth grade and my dad and my uncles coached me all the way up through eighth grade into Jesuit.

Q: Was football your main sport?

A: I played basketball until my sophomore year of high school, but I always knew that I wanted to play football in college. That was my calling. My dad played football and it was always my love.

Q: Why did football strike you as being so special?

A: I don't think there's another sport that has so much trust involved and in football, there's like an electricity you feel out there. That's what I fell in love with.

Q: You played defensive back and receiver in high school. How has that background shaped you as a defensive end today?

A: I kind of think of myself as a student of the game because I've been everywhere. Actually, coming here I didn't know if I was going to be on defense or offense until I got down here. Playing safety and receiver, I loved being a skill position player, getting the ball and stuff. But now that I've switched out to the d-line, it's so much fun just getting those sacks and hitting the quarterback. I don't think there's a more fun thing in the game than going out and hitting the quarterback in the blind side.

Q: Was it a tough decision to walk on at Oregon State?

A: Going and looking at my options out of high school, I just fell in love with coach (Mike) Riley. He is one of the greatest men I know. I have so much respect for him. He's kind of like a father to us all and you can tell he genuinely cares for his players. I couldn't say that for a lot of college coaches out there. So coach Riley was definitely the reason why I came here and it made it easy for me.

Q: Were you an Oregon State fan while growing up?

A: I hate to say it, but living in Washington I kind of grew up a Husky and Cougar fan until I got over to Jesuit and then I started switching sides. I followed all the Northwest teams growing up. I never really had a favorite, but now I do.

Q: Were you recruited by the Northwest schools?

A: Yeah, all of the Northwest schools, actually. I was very interested in Stanford, just due to the scholastics. Starting out, I had an offer here but I was going to try to go to Stanford just because of the schooling, but that ended up not working out for me and I just came back to coach Riley and I was like, "Look, this is the school I want to go to" and he worked with me and it all worked out.

Q: When you came to Oregon State, did you assume you were going to play receiver or defensive back?

A: I was thinking probably linebacker, actually. That's what my thought process was coming in. When they said safety, I played that all the time at Jesuit so I was fine with that. I just wanted to go play. I was excited to be here. When I first came my freshman year I was a safety. Then I switched, I believe spring ball of my sophomore year, to linebacker. Then I just kept movin' on down.

Q: What did playing those positions teach you about playing defense at this level?

A: It actually helped me a lot because just with all the play calls, I know what the entire defense is doing. So I know that if I do this a little bit differently, it's going to help out the linebackers and the safeties behind me. So overall, it's great knowing the whole defense.

Q: Did you ever imagine yourself playing defensive end?

A: Never in my wildest imagination would I think I was going to be a defensive lineman. I still kind of laugh about it. Inoke (Breckterfield) was the first person that kind of saw me out at defensive end. He came up to me one day and just sort of looked me up and down and he goes, "What do you think about defensive end?" I just kind of laughed at him, I was like, "Yeah, whatever." But I love it here now.

Q: What did you think about the position when you started playing there? Did you think, "Yeah, this is a good fit" or "What am I doing here?"

A: A little of both. I was a great speed rusher. I just ran off the edge every single time. I had no clue what I was doing. They just said, "Get the quarterback," so that's what I tried doing. It was difficult at first just because I had never played defensive lineman before so I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. But the learning came and now, finally, success is coming, too.

Q: How big was the transition for you?

A: It would have been a lot bigger had it not been for the seniors that I had in front of me. Those guys were awesome. I had like eight coaches out there. They were all so helpful. Jeff Van Orsow and Dorian Smith and even (Victor Butler) because Vic was playing before I got there. They all helped me out a lot. That's why I think I learned the defense so fast.

Q: You're known for your speed rush. How much of that is due to being a smaller guy earlier in your career?

A: With me, it's kind of a mindset. I still think of myself as a skill player, a fast player, like a speed rusher. So it's all a mindset for me. I'm still out there using my hands that I learned from linebacker, my footwork that I learned from safety and just putting them all together.

Q: How big are you now?

A: Right now, I think I'm around 240. I came in a little heavier but I lost some weight during the season. Senior in high school I was about 210, somewhere in there. I was a larger safety. That was at the beginning of the season, but by the end I was like 200, 198. I always lose weight during the season.

Q: Did it take a big effort to put on the weight?

A: They've got a great weight program here, the guys are awesome. So it kind of just naturally came. I wasn't trying to get bigger or anything, it just came and I worked with it and took the path that my body chose for me.

Q: Did you have to eat differently?

A: Not at all. They just told me, good food, a good variety and work hard and that's where it got me.

Q: Have you watched defensive ends in the NFL or former OSU starters to see what they do when they're rushing the passer or playing the run?

A: For me, I've always watched the guys ahead of me. I still go back on game film. The NFL helps just for simple moves, but for us, playing in our defense is different than the way they play, so I go back and I still watch Dorian Smith and Jeff Van Orsow and try to take their moves, emulate what they do and kind of put my own spin on it, playing to my strengths and that really helps me out a lot.

Q: What have you found works the most for you?

A: With me, it's all about making the (offensive) tackle off-balance and not knowing what I'm going to do next. So you've got to set up with your speed because he knows that I'm a speed rusher, so I've got to make him respect that and then once I get him off-balance, I can use my power.

Q: How big a transition has it been to move from a situational pass rusher to the starting spot?

A: It's been fun. It's nice for Vic and I, being starters, knowing that the guys behind us can play and being able to trust the guys behind us makes our job a heck of a lot easier because we know that we can go in and give it our all and if we get tired, we have guys behind us that can just make the plays that we can. To be honest, it wasn't that big of a transition because we can still come out and feel confident that we're going to succeed on the field.

Q: You've been able to practice against Andy Levitre. How has that helped your development as a defensive end?

A: The tackles I've gone up against are Adam Koets, when I first went to d-end I was playing scout team and he's playing in the NFL right now and doing a great job. And then I went from him to Andy Levitre. So I feel pretty confident going up against anybody in the country because I feel those guys can definitely stack up against any offensive tackles in the country. So that's helped me tremendously.

Q: What interests do you have off the field?

A: I was always into sports. When I was little, it was always football, basketball, baseball and then you start over. I played the piano until high school. I just got too busy, I had to drop that. Just hanging out with friends, watching movies, playing the occasional X-Box. Joey LaRocque and I used to go to all kinds of movies, he used to be my roommate back when he was here, so I'll watch anything.

Q: What are your goals for the future?

A: I'm going to major at the end of this term in communication and then I'm going to stay around and take some business classes and minor in business. Then hopefully with that, Nike would be a great company to work for. I've been sponsored by Nike since I was at Jesuit, so I know their gear fairly well and it's a great company.

Q: Do you have any interest in coaching down the road?

A: I've definitely thought about it. I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do afterwards, but that's definitely an option. I love the game so much, I won't be able to get away from it for long.

Q: Have you coached youth football?

A: My brother (Zane), he's a freshman here and my dad was actually the coach, but I was always at his games, always watching. So I do enjoy coaching.

Q: How has it been to have Zane here as a teammate?

A: It's been so much fun. We've always been real close. Leaving him at home once I left high school for college was kind of hard. Having him down here now, we're hanging out basically every day. He's been over at my house all the time and it's so much fun to have him and I'm so proud of him because he's been doing a great job. I think he's going to be a real good player for us.