By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard
The NFL Draft is upon us and while the ‘industrial draft complex’ is in full swing this time of year, this is in the enter a hiring event. Some players will be hired with a big salary, others with a low salary and some will not get hired at all. But some of those trying to get a job know this and there are some of the those who deserve a job anyway.
Scooby Wright III. Yes you read that right and that is his name. His twitter handle, TwoStarScoob. Why? That’s how many “stars” he was given as high school football recruit (max is five).
Scooby is a linebacker who came out of Arizona after his junior season in order to get a job in the NFL. A junior season in which he only played in a few games due to multiple injuries. He returned from all of the injuries to help Arizona to a bowl victory over New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl. A game in which he had 15 total tackles, 11 of those solo and two sacks. Oh and he was also PAC-12 defensive player of the year in 2014.
But Scooby will not be drafted/hired in the first round and probably not the second either.
He isn’t the “prototypical NFL linebacker” when it comes to size and speed. The scouts will say he can’t do this or can’t do that. The hiring managers will find something on the resume that they do not like.
Scooby is a smart guy and realizes what the doubters will say. He knows that some things on his resume don’t pass muster with the hiring manager. That is why his post in The Players’ Tribune is all the more impressive.
Scooby understands that the NFL Draft is a step in the job interview process. The combine, the private workouts, all of it is part of a process. And like applying for any job, there are requirements that you just don’t have.
Not enough experience, no previous experience in this or that and the new favorite…not a good culture fit. For Scooby it’s the size (six foot even) and speed (4.87 40 yard dash) and the fact that he hasn’t been in an NFL locker room before.
But before you feel too bad Scooby just remember, someone will give him a chance and he will in all reality prove to those that past on him……shame on you.
Another job candidate is Colorado fullback Jordan Murphy.
Murphy never carried the ball at Colorado but is trying to make it in the NFL anyway. His story reminds us all why you should always follow your dreams.
Murphy was in the Aurora theatre the night that James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others back in 2012.
So Murphy put in his application with the NFL. He knows his qualifications are probably not what the hiring manager is looking for but he also knows that he only needs one person to give him a shot.
As you listen to ‘draft experts’ and analysis from various coached during the 2016 NFL Draft, just think to yourself, ‘would I want my interview on TV?’
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