CINCINNATI (AP) -Roddrick Muckelroy already had the Cincinnati Bengals’ attention when one of their coaches took him aside for a short get-to-know-you chat at the scouting combine.
The linebacker from Texas started talking. And kept talking. And talking.
Basically, he talked his way into the Bengals’ draft plans.
Muckelroy ended up going to Cincinnati in the fourth round last week with the recommendation of linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald, who had such a good time talking to Muckelroy at the combine that he came away convinced he was a good fit.
“We ended up talking for a long time,” Muckelroy said Saturday, during a break between rookie minicamp practices. “I think that’s what jump-started our relationship right there.”
It had a lot to do with it.
ball knowledge,” said FitzGerald, who also can be talkative. “And that really lit him up. He was really excited.
“All I had to do was ask a couple of questions and then it was, ‘Hey, time’s up.’ He went on and on, and told me about how the defense worked at Texas and the calls he made and what he was responsible for. He laid it out pretty completely.”
Although the Bengals currently are set at linebacker – 32-year-old Dhani Jones in the middle, with second-year player Rey Maualuga and third-year player Keith Rivers at the outside spots – they could have an opening soon. Jones is entering the final year on his deal.
Maualuga played middle linebacker at Southern California, anchoring a unit that included Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews. Muckelroy played all three linebacker spots at Texas, moving around because of injuries and excelling wherever he went.
There are a lot of possibilities for the newcomer down the line. He’d rather not wait.
“I’m here, and now I’m working on cracking the starting lineup so I can get some time on game days,” he said.
Muckelroy made defensive calls at Texas. He spent a lot of time working on the mental aspect of the game, a trait that impressed the Bengals.
“I like to study,” the linebacker said. “I take a lot of notes and go over my notes, just different things I do outside the meeting rooms. I do a lot of off-field studying.”
oss right away during his combine meeting with FitzGerald, who started talking X-and-O stuff and wound up engrossed in a wide-ranging conversation that went well over the time limit.
“We were supposed to sit and talk for five to 10 minutes,” Muckelroy said. “We talked for 45 minutes. We talked about football. We talked about family. We talked about everything.”
Talked his way right onto a young defense that finished No. 4 in the league last season.
“They have an attacking style,” Muckelroy said, after his third minicamp practice. “I feel I fit right into the system.”
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