Iowa linebackers solidify their NFL futures
By ANDREW LOGUE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Iowa City, Ia. — Gil Brandt raves about Chad Greenway.
The man who spent three decades evaluating college football talent and fueling the Dallas Cowboys' image as "America's Team" said the Iowa senior linebacker may be among the best prospects in the nation.
Still, when Brandt studied Greenway's performance against Ohio State on Sept. 24, the review was less than glowing.
"He's playing well," said Brandt, who works for NFL.com. "But I probably expected a little more out of him than I've seen."
Greenway and fellow Hawkeye linebacker Abdul Hodge are just beginning to face the harsh realities of NFL scouting.
The people who project whether a player can succeed at the professional level do more than watch film. They visit schools, talk with coaches and record every tidbit.
"It's not pressure, but it's almost like there's somebody always there watching you," Greenway said. "It's impossible not to be aware. It's kind of a fish bowl-type thing where they're almost watching every step and making sure you're doing things right."
Various publications touted Greenway and Hodge as potential early-round picks in next spring's NFL draft, but Iowa's revamped defensive line left them exposed to scrutiny - despite the fact both are on pace to surpass their tackling totals from a year ago.
Scouts took notice last fall when Hodge averaged 9.7 tackles and Greenway made 9.4. Through six games this season, Greenway averages 13.2 tackles and Hodge contributes 10.3.
Brandt, the Cowboys' vice-president of player personnel from 1960-89, was especially impressed with Greenway.
"You see things," he said. "You see him make plays all over the field."
Greenway and Hodge, however, have altered their approach to suit the Hawkeyes' inexperienced defensive line, which lost four starters - including all-Americans Matt Roth and Jonathan Babineaux.
"A linebacker's success is directly correlated with the defensive line's success," said Chris Spielman, an ESPN analyst and former all-pro linebacker. "I've learned that when the guys in front of me looked good, I looked good. When they struggled in front of me a little bit, I struggled a little bit."
Greenway leads the Big Ten Conference with 52 solo tackles, but he's also been forced to take more responsibilities, occasionally lining up as an extra pass rusher.
"With all due respect to NFL scouts, that's their job to know what's going on," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They know the situation. They know the good and bad, the experienced players back. Just like a guy's 40 time on field, Astro turf or a track - they qualify everything."
Scouts gather much of their data simply by hanging around.
"You see them at practice all the time," Hodge said. "You experience the same thing in high school (during the recruiting process). You don't want to change for them, but you want to be yourself and go out and do the things that you're used to doing."
How a player grades out can have a significant financial impact.
The average first-round selection in 2004 received a signing bonus of roughly $2.8 million, and an annual base salary of $444,000.
"I thought (Greenway) had a chance to be one of the top five players," Brandt said. "What happens historically is we don't draft linebackers very high."
Brandt said Greenway and Hodge compare favorably to Derrick Johnson, a linebacker from Texas who became the 15th overall pick last spring by the Kansas City Chiefs. Johnson signed a five-year contract worth $10.5 million.
"Money is not an object at all," Greenway said. "That doesn't mean anything, especially to my family. We're not the richest people in the world, but we're pretty happy."
Brandt said it's too early to gauge where Greenway and Hodge will land in the draft.
"Four or five games doesn't elevate a player and it doesn't drop a player down," Brandt said. "As for myself, don't see any reason for concern."
Riffel leaves: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said during his weekly radio show that receiver Kyle Riffel has left the football team.