I want to maximize my potential as a player. I want to be as good as I could possibly be. And if I do that, I think I could be one of the best players out there.

I'm out to prove something-that I'm all for real and that I can do it on my own without any help.

As a kid, I never thought I saw myself as unusual. I always thought that lots of people could do what I did. More and more I realized I was wrong.

Once I really maximize my potential-I don't know when that'll be, a year from now, three or four years from now-I think I can be one of the great ones.

I want to be my own player. I want to be Julius Peppers. I don't want to be the next Lawrence Taylor. I don't want to have to live with his legacy.

How can you say you want to be somewhere when you're not really sure if they want you there because they're not even talking to you?

I believe that if I committed to basketball, I could make an impact in the NBA. I now see football as my job and my greatest challenge.