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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 11:57 p.m., Thursday, April 30, 2009

NFL: Rookies Raji, Matthews Google their way to Green Bay

Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. — B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews are in for some culture shock in the NFL's smallest market. At least they were smart enough to prepare for it.

The Green Bay Packers picked them in the first round of Saturday's draft. Raji, a defensive tackle from Boston College, was selected No. 9 overall, and Matthews, a linebacker from Southern California, was No. 26.

Both quickly hopped on their computers to learn more about their new team and new town.

"The rest of (Saturday), I was still in shock," Raji, who grew up outside New York City, said Thursday. "But Sunday I actually went on the Packers' Web site, got a chance to get a feel for the organization. I actually went on Wikipedia, looked up Green Bay to see what it was like, found some interesting facts about it, so it was good."

Added Matthews, who's from the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills: "I did the same thing. First I looked where Green Bay was on the map, to find out where I would be for the next couple years. After that, I went to Wikipedia, started looking at the coaches, looking at their backgrounds and whatnot, just finding ways to familiarize myself with the team so when I came in here, it wasn't such a shock. It is (a shock), obviously, but I think we're that much more prepared."

As the Packers shift into new defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme, the team can only hope Matthews and Raji are as motivated on the field as they are on Google. The club likely will need both to be prepared to start when the season opens Sept. 13 against Chicago.

"I was told today by several coaches, including coach Capers, that me and Clay are very fortunate in the fact that the defense and the system is new to everybody," Raji said. "So we're not two, three years behind guys. We have the same opportunity as they do."

In the Packers' new defense, Raji will not only play nose tackle, his primary position, but he'll also shift outside to end, new defensive line coach Mike Trgovac told him Thursday.

Matthews, meanwhile, is expected to line up at right outside linebacker opposite Aaron Kampman in a position where the de facto starter is Brady Poppinga. The position is similar to the "elephant" position he played in the Trojans' defense last year, his only college season as a starter.

Raji and Matthews arrived in Green Bay in advance of the team's three-day rookie orientation camp, which kicks off Friday. The team will hold three light practices for the eight draft picks, plus undrafted free-agent signees and rookie tryout invitees.

Both players also addressed erroneous predraft reports they had failed drug tests — Raji for marijuana, and Matthews and fellow USC linebacker Brian Cushing for steroids — at the NFL combine in February.

While Raji acknowledged Thursday he did test positive for marijuana at BC, he remains bothered by the SI.com report about the combine test, which Sports Illustrated later retracted.

Raji and Matthews said they spoke to one of the two doctors who administered the tests at the combine and were assured they were clean. Matthews later received a retraction from NFLDraftBible.com for its erroneous report.

"The positive test at BC, I mean, I'm a man. That was a mistake that I made," said Raji, who was also ruled academically ineligible for the 2007 season. "But I feel like what came about with Sports Illustrated ... for people who never met me, the first time hearing about me, that's the perception they get? That's the thing that bothered me with that. And the fact that I knew that it wasn't true, I just had to wait the time out until the real results came out."

Both said they share a similar attitude of having to prove themselves, because Raji wasn't heavily recruited out of high school and Matthews had to walk on at USC, his father, uncle and grandfather's alma mater. Now, they have to do it again.

"We had to earn everything we got," Raji said. "Some guys come out of high school with the luxury of being all-American this, all-American that. Clay and myself, we had to actually work to get to our positions. And that's more gratifying for me — I'm sure it is for him — to know how hard you worked to get to this point."