NFL Scouting Combine Spotlight: UTC Center Cole Strange
INDIANAPOLIS — Nobody wanted Cole Strange.
Until everybody wanted him.
But by then it was too late. The linebacker turned defensive end turned offensive lineman already was entrenched in Tennessee-Chattanooga's FCS program and bound for a career in the NFL, which is expected to call his name on the second or third day of its annual Draft.
Strange won't have to depend on the sport to carry him through his adult life, however. After graduating with a degree in psychology, Strange is halfway to a master's degree.
That doesn't mean the player who was so lightly recruited coming out of high school in Knoxville, Tenn. won't be riding out his football dream for all it's worth.
Strange is not all that uncommon. He has a typical nasty streak on the gridiron that works in a variety of blocking schemes, including his favorite, the outside zone.
So how well would he fit with the Buffalo Bills, who could be looking for an immediate upgrade at center and/or guard?
Well, they don't run outside zone schemes all the time and aren't expected to change much under new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, either. They do crave intelligence, particularly at the center spot, and it would never hurt to start planning for life after Mitch Morse, who is due to count $11.2 million against the salary cap, $8.5 million of which could be saved by a trade or release.
So yes, even though the Bills weren't one of the teams who had interviewed Strange at the Combine as of Thursday morning, rest assured they will be doing their due diligence.
"I feel like I would I would fit well in a zone-type scheme," Strange said, before quickly amending that statement. "I feel like I would fit well with any type scheme. I'm very comfortable running the outside zone. I feel like it does kind of suit my skillset because I feel like I'm quick enough to — I don't want to toot my own horn. I'm not like the fastest guy in the room — but I feel comfortable running that for sure."
Interestingly, the player Strange follows the most is Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Like Kelce, Strange was a linebacker in high school. Like Kelce, Strange (6-5, 305) is considered relatively small for his new position.
Kelce was drafted in the sixth round as a supposed project in 2011. He made it to the top of the depth chart early in his first training camp and has gone on to make five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams. He will make the Hall of Fame as well and may even be able to enter at the same time as his brother Travis, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, if they sync up their eventual retirements the right way.
"Him not being as big as a bunch of the guys are and still being one of the best — I don't know, that kind of just blows my mind, Strange said. "Because I feel like all I ever hear is `gain weight, gain weight.' Like you're 300, you need to be 310. You're 305, you need to be 320. And this guy's like 285."
Strange would do well to keep paying attention to Kelce.
He also believes there are many more offensive linemen out there who are trapped in lighter bodies and roles that don't fit them best as a result.
"I know that my coaches at Chattanooga really liked guys who were taller, leaner, like maybe a tight-end type body, or maybe a defensive end, and like putting weight on them, as opposed to get someone who's already like 300 pounds, and just trying to make them quicker," Strange said. "They'd much rather have somebody who was already pretty quick but just needed to gain weight."
The Pittsburgh Steelers even did it at the NFL level with Alejandro Villanueva, who couldn't make it as a defensive end but made two Pro Bowls as a left tackle before moving on to Baltimore last season.
Strange may be a brain with a giant appetite, but he has a sadistic side that should suit him well at the lext level.
"I look at it as it's the only place you can just kind of be a [bleep]," he said. "You know, you can hurt somebody, you can bury somebody, you can kind of give an elbow in their neck. And people kind of revere you for that.
And also, it's just fun, you know? Yeah, I just enjoy that.
The thinking here is that the Bills Mafia might enjoy him enjoying that as well.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
