Greenwood Working to Impress NFL Scouts

Written by Zach Dirlam, '13 Friday, January 13, 2012

Chris Greenwood will play for the West squad in the East-West Shrine Game.Albion College is not exactly what you would call a National Football League talent pipeline, but defensive back Chris Greenwood, '12, is attempting to become the second player in school history to play professional football and hopes to be what the school believes to be the fourth Briton selected in the NFL Draft this April.

The three-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association first-team selection drew the attention of numerous professional scouts after showing the ability to shut down just about every wide receiver he has lined up against the past two seasons.

Greenwood had multiple discussions with many of the scouts; however, many of their conversations had absolutely nothing to do with football.

“They really didn’t give me any indication of whether I would be a draft pick, or what round it would be,” Greenwood said. “From the conversations we had, the questions they were asking were mainly about what kind of person I was.”

While the scouts took some time to get to know Greenwood on a personal level, they also made plenty of comments and critiques about his game, which the 2011 American Football Coaches Association All-American and MIAA Defensive MVP embraced with great humility.

“They told me some things I did well that I should keep doing, and they told me some areas I could improve,” Greenwood said. “A lot of them commented on my speed and my ability to cover… and my height, of course. I am tall for my position.”

The Detroit native and Martin Luther King High School alumnus has been measured and listed at nearly 6 feet 2 inches tall, which allows Greenwood to match up better against tall wide receivers and use his long arms to bat away almost anything thrown in his vicinity.

Greenwood also has recorded sub-4.40-second times in the 40-yard dash, which gives him elite-level speed to go along with his outstanding size.

When NFL scouts watch Greenwood practice and perform on Saturday afternoons, it's no surprise that comparisons begin to run wild in their heads. And a current member of the New York Jets seems to be the name that comes up most when examining the Britons’ lockdown cornerback.

Chris Greenwood is an economics & management major at Albion.“The person I heard that I remind people of the most was Antonio Cromartie,” Greenwood said in an almost bashful tone. “We are around the same height, size, and speed. They told me that after watching me at practice, too.

“There was a big smile on my face,” he added. “This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was little and just having it be right here, so close to me, is a dream come true. It’s exciting.”

Although Greenwood enjoys all of the praise and comparisons, none of them will ever replace his all-time favorite cornerback, who is currently a member of the Green Bay Packers.

“My all-time favorite cornerback is Charles Woodson,” Greenwood said. “I grew up watching him at Michigan and he’s probably the reason I wanted to play corner, because I wanted to do the things I saw him do.”

The fact that Albion is not a well-known name with many NFL scouts did not stop Greenwood from believing he could one day play professional football.

“I knew that if I worked hard and did what I was supposed to do I would get a shot,” Greenwood said. “I actually went to Northwood coming out of high school and they told me the same thing.

“It’s not about where you are. It’s about how you play, approach every situation, and how hard you work. … I always kept that in the back of my mind as a reason to work hard.”
Northwood University was one of the few schools that recruited Greenwood as a cornerback, which is the position he wanted to play at the collegiate level.

Everything did not work out for Greenwood at Northwood, though, because he “did not like the environment” there. So, Greenwood decided to transfer to Eastern Michigan University and attempted to make the varsity team as a walk-on.

Due to some credit transfer issues and new head coach Ron English, Greenwood spent just one season at Eastern Michigan and never saw the field on game day.

“The whole time I was there it was a little bit of a run-around process and I couldn’t get in contact with the right people, and because I had transferred from Northwood I lost some credits,” Greenwood said. “I would have been able to practice, but not eligible to compete in games.

“At Albion I had an opportunity to play right away when I came and I knew I couldn’t sit out another year.”

Even Greenwood admits he knew as much about Albion prior to his enrollment three years ago as NFL scouts did before making the trip to Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium in 2011.

“I had never actually heard of Albion,” Greenwood said with a slight chuckle. “It felt like the right decision, though. They welcomed me with open arms and it really felt like a family with all the coaches and things like that.”

Shortly after Greenwood played his final game for the Britons he began working out at Parisi Speed School in Fair Lawn, N.J., to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Parisi is one of the country's top training facilities for preparing collegiate athletes for NFL Combine workouts.

In the last nine years there have been 127 players selected in the NFL Draft who trained at a Parisi Speed School.

“I’m really trying to improve in all aspects of my game,” Greenwood said. “One area in particular is my physicality along with adjusting to the speed of the game.”

The economics and management major knows he will face much stiffer competition at the next level and must develop his game in order to earn a spot on an NFL roster.

“This is not going to be a situation where I am bigger, faster, and stronger than everybody else that I’m competing against,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood will get his first shot at elevated competition when he participates in the 87th edition of the East-West Shrine Game, which will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on January 21st. The star cornerback will strap on his helmet for the West team, which will be coached by former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

“It means a lot,” Greenwood said about the opportunity to play in one of the most recognized college football senior games. “I definitely couldn’t have imagined being invited, because I am at a Division III school.”

Some notable names on the West team include wide receiver Junior Hemingway and tight end Kevin Koger, who both played for the Michigan Wolverines, as well as Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Dan Persa.

While Greenwood will only have to line up against those outstanding players in practice, he will be faced with the difficult task of shutting down top-notch wide receivers B.J. Cunningham of Michigan State, LaRon Byrd from Miami (Fla.), and Danny Coale from Virginia Tech.

Despite the twists and turns along the path that may potentially lead him to the NFL, Greenwood has no regrets about anything in his past and is enjoying the present.

“I don’t have any regrets. I feel like everything happens for a reason,” Greenwood said. “I think it could have been different, but I do not regret anything that’s happened. I feel like I’m in the best situation for myself.”

Perhaps one NFL team in particular should take note of Greenwood’s abilities and snag him if given the opportunity either in, or after, the draft.

“I would play for any team, but if I had the choice it would be to play for my hometown with the Detroit Lions, to be a part of their rebuilding process and be able to live close to my family,” Greenwood said, “That would be nice.”

It is unclear as of today whether or not Greenwood will actually be taken in one of the NFL Draft’s seven rounds, but just the fact that his name and Albion College are being associated with professional football is a victory greater than either could have hoped for prior to Greenwood's arrival on campus in the fall of 2009.