ATHENS -- A.J. Green walked into a conference room one afternoon in September, and the questions came firing: Did he know that selling his jersey was against NCAA rules? How well did he know this so-called agent? Why did he put his eligibility in jeopardy?
Through it all, the Georgia receiver never asked officials standing behind him for a bail-out. He answered the question, then waited for the next one. After a few minutes, it was over.
“He was probably more forthcoming than he needed to be or could’ve been,” said Claude Felton, UGA’s associate athletics director for communications.
In the end, Green’s four-game suspension by the NCAA last year became the only blip in a career marked not only by spectacular plays, but an unassuming manner. That’s one reason why Green -- who plays a position known for prima donna behavior -- is expected to be one of the top picks in the NFL draft Thursday night.
But the off-field factor may be swinging in the opposite direction for another former Bulldogs player.
Justin Houston, who like Green left school a year early, was primed to a first-round pick, too. But revelations of a positive marijuana test may sink him to the second round Friday.
“It’s not good, to be honest,” said draft analyst Wes Bunting, from National Football Post. “I can’t say it’s going to kill his draft stock right now because people already knew about it. But I don’t think this gets him into the first round. I don’t think there’s much chance of that now.”
It’s a marked contrast: Green, who was featured in Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old, not putting on airs. Houston, once a three-star recruit who had to prove himself, having to do so again as his pro career begins.
In fact, there’s an outside chance Houston might not be the second Bulldogs player taken in the draft, which runs through Saturday. Offensive linemen Clint Boling is rated highly on a lot of boards because of his versatility -- he played left tackle and right guard at Georgia -- and is likely to be picked in the second of third round.
Georgia could end up having as many as six players drafted: Inside linebacker Akeem Dent projects between the third and fifth rounds, and fullback Shaun Chapas, receiver Kris Durham and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs are candidates for late-round selections.
The draft may be spaced out during three days, but Dent had a ready answer when asked when he would turn on his television.
“You have to start watching at the beginning,” Dent said, smiling. “That’s when the draft starts.”
And that’s about where Green will be picked.
“He’s just dynamic,” Bunting said. “For a big receiver, he’s the most fluid route-runner that I’ve ever seen. … He can be a special route-runner, he’s not limited to just the downfield routes.”
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, now an ESPN analyst, rated Green as the “clear-cut” No. 1 receiver in the draft, over Alabama’s Julio Jonoes.
“(Green) just looks polished, a tremendous college football player. That’s rare if you ask me,” Gruden said. “This guy has made some amazing one-handed catches. He can get down the field and double-move you. He’s good after the catch. They tell me he’s a tremendous worker and a fine young guy.”
The NCAA suspension didn’t end up being a red flag for NFL teams. It did show poor judgment, but teams are more concerned with players who run afoul of the law.
“I never got any feeling that this was any kind of character concern,” Bunting said of Green. “When you don’t ever question it, I think it helps.”
Green also used the darkest moment of his college career to show he could withstand some off-field pressure. The post-suspension news conference was part of that. After not speaking for a month, team officials told Green it would be best to take questions about the matter once and it would be over with. Felton said Green understood that and was willing to do it.
“In the final analysis, he basically took his medicine,” Felton said. “When he came that day to speak to you guys, he viewed that as, ‘This is the end. I go in and take care of it and hopefully this will be behind me.’ If you have any kind of situation like that, the longer you don’t put an end to it, it’s going to continue to drag and be a distraction.”
Green, a native of Summerville, S.C., also hasn’t fled Athens since declaring for the draft. He and Dent were present at several spring practice, just watching from the side. There was no entourage.
Still, Green made clear that a lack of airs shouldn’t be perceived as a lack of ambition.
“I think I’m going to go in there and contribute to a ballclub right away,” Green said last month during Georgia’s pro day. “Because I have that mentality that I’m going to be the best, no matter what. The worst thing I’m afraid of is failure, and I’m going to do my best to don’t even have that happen.”
