As the second day of practices at the Shrine Game draws to a close here’s the latest buzz from St Pete Beach.
Yesterday I spent time speaking with the father of Mason Cole, the Michigan junior presently rated as our number one
center.
Mason has announced he is returning to Michigan and I asked Cole senior why.
Mr. Cole, who lives in the Tampa area, explained there were two prime factors in the final decision; 1) Mason is young at 20 years old and won’t be 21 until the end of March and 2) the grade returned from the advisory committee was with the recommendation of “return to school” meaning Mason Cole was not graded as a first or second rounder.
Staying on the Big Ten front, many on hand in St Pete believe Ohio State junior
Curtis Samuel could slide into the late part of round one.
Samuel’s versatility as a ball carrier and pass catcher coupled with his speed and big play ability has NFL decision makers intrigued. We presently grade Samuel as 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]/3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round choice at
running back.
There may be nothing to this next piece but today we saw New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan have a long and extended conversation with one of the representatives from the firm that represents quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
The list of NFL executives on hand for Shrine Game practices include Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan, Tennessee Titans general manager John Robinson, New York Giants vice-President of Player Evaluation Marc Ross, Oakland Raiders Director of Player Personnel Joey Clinkscales and Scott Pioli of the Atlanta Falcons.
