A.J. Green Dealing with Great Loss Heading into the NFL Draft
Editor/Writer's Note: This story was originally published on Saturday, but was updated on Monday after A.J. Green announced on social media that his dad had passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with A.J. and the Green family and friends.
STILLWATER -- A.J. Green has experienced all the preparation for the NFL Draft. Unfortunately, now he is experiencing tragedy the week of the NFL Draft. Green tweeted out an emotional message on Monday evening saying good-bye and acknowledging the loss of his father and his name sake Alvin James Green.
A.J. Green's tweet saluting his father and announcing that he had passed away:
2020 Couldn’t Get Any Worse! I love you Pops! May Your Soul Rest In Paradise! Our name will live On! Always Smiling Willing To do anything for Me. I love You. I’m not Ok nor will I be OK soon but i will find the strength from within and continue the legacy of Alvin James Green.
I had met Mr. Green on a couple of occasions. The first was in Arlington, Texas at a Nike Opening Regional when A.J. was a senior in high school at DeSoto. The last time I saw him was at the Senior Banquet back in December that I had the honor of serving as master of ceremonies. I can tell you that he was very proud of his son. He should be both on the field and off.
The senior cornerback from Oklahoma State and originally out of Texas high school power DeSoto is back home waiting for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to welcome all of us to the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night. With the absence of live sports for the past month and more, the NFL Draft is likely to be one of the most watched events in sports history. Green will have his eyes glued. He feels he has done what he can.
"I was very fortunate to get it all in. I kind of used every step to get better and improve and get better," Green told me in a radio interview on Friday. "I was very fortunate to get my Pro Day in because nobody knew this (coronavirus) was going to happen and it is a very unfortunate incident."
Green had a good Senior Bowl week of practice and was noticed by the scouts, coaches, and administrators. Then at the Combine in Indianapolis he did everything well, even went spotless on the passing gauntlet, which the corners did this year for the first time. However, his forty was slow. He had an injury in the Senior Bowl that cost him training. He came back with an early Pro Day, just under the wire by less than a week before Pro Days began being cancelled.
Green ran a speculated 4.5 flat in the Pro Day, enough with his size and ball skills that he was back on the upside. Back at home he has kept working and has made sure the NFL decision makers know that about him.
"I mean I have access to a weight room and to a field," Green explained. "I train with a guy that I have been training with since high school and he keeps small numbers, so I have kept that up. On the field I work with a DB trainer and we just go to an open field and he still has good work."
Green even showed off his workouts on Twitter last week.
#SeniorBowl alum @AjGofor6 putting in work!
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) April 15, 2020
A.J. Green, DB, Oklahoma St#NFLDraft2020 #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE @JimNagy_SB @MoveTheSticks @MelKiperESPN pic.twitter.com/OEVf9KSUah
As far as what Green is hearing. He said he really isn't. He's heard from a lot of teams. They show a lot of interest, but he doesn't know where he will end up. There has been talk that Dallas, needing a cornerback, will have an eye out for Green and could draft him say in the fourth round or later. There are projections of Green going as high as the third round, but Dallas in the fourth would be excellent.
"I've kind of heard, it's been crazy with the whole coronavirus thing and my agents haven't all been together in the same room," Green said. "I just know that whoever takes me is going to get a heckuva corner.
"The Cowboys are a great organization and I have a lot of respect for them," he added. I think that would be crazy, would be a great experience for me. I'd love to be, since I'm from the Dallas area, went to a Dallas high school, to be playing for the Dallas Cowboys would be a great experience for me."
Source close to the situation said Green's highest grade from a team was late second round and if corners start flying off the board then Green could wind up in the second half of the third round. If not, he is likely to go in the fourth or fifth round. That comes from a reliable draft source.
Happy #TouchdownTuesday from @AjGofor6!#okstate #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/ZMksBSe49V
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) April 14, 2020
Green finished up his Oklahoma State career, and he is the only starter from last season's defense that is leaving and graduating. The rest return. Green has a cousin in Jabbar Muhammad from DeSoto, a cornerback, that will be a freshman. I told Green that when I think of him that I will always think of the pass he broke up in the end zone on the last play to beat West Virginia. He had six career interceptions, 147 tackles, but it is one of the four interceptions from his sophomore year that he says will always be his top memory.
It was a good pick and like my pick, it was a game winner.
"I would say the Iowa State interception as they were driving down," Green said. "That was a great moment."
It was a shared moment too. The previous two plays the Cyclones threw to the other side of the field and the other corner of the end zone at Rodarius Williams. Williams has been the other starting corner with Green for the past three seasons. The next play they went at Green and he picked it off in the back of the end zone."
"We shared a lot of time on that field," Green echoed.
Now Green moves on and Williams stays to be the leader on the back end of the defense. A year from now, I expect Williams, the older brother of current NFL corner "Greedy" Williams will be joining his brother and his "Cowboy brother" in the league. Like all of us, he'll be watching this week to see where A.J. winds up going.
Now, Green's father, Alvin James, will be looking down on his son rather than sitting beside him when his name is called later this week.
