Chris Greenwood- Anyone Know the Real Story?

Submitted by Ziff72 on

The Lions draft of Chris Greenwood really has me perplexed.   This guy went to Detroit King supposedly so it wasn't like he was at a school that would not get scouted.  Was this guy on the recruiting radar when he came out?   This guys measurables rank with Patrick Peterson and Deion Sanders if that 40 time is legit.  6' 2" corners that  run 4.4 forty times get drafted in the 1st rd not play at Albion.   

I couldn't find him on Rivals database.   My guess is either he had a 7inch growth spurt or he quit football while at King.   Seems like a crazy story in there somewhere but no one seems to have covered it yet.

 

NOLA Wolverine

April 30th, 2012 at 2:28 PM ^

A google search of his real name brings this up: 

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20120429/SPORTS/304290005/Lions-say-Albion-s-CB-Chris-Greenwood-s-measurables-off-charts

http://sidelionreport.com/2012/04/28/how-detroit-lions-draft-pick-chris-greenwood-ended-up-at-albion/

He went to Northwood out of high school. Aparently he and his coach either didn't work very hard to get recruited or he wasn't that great in high school. 

yzerman19

April 30th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^

I am going to say David Greenwood played at Wisonsin and played for the USFL champion Michigan Panthers along with Anthony Carter and Bobby Hebert.  A safety i believe; after the USFL folded he had a cup of coffee with the Raiders before he went off to live off the land in the woods. True story.

chitownblue2

April 30th, 2012 at 2:40 PM ^

Either he wasn't very good in HS, or he had academic issues - the rejection at EMU would suggest the latter.

RakeFight

April 30th, 2012 at 2:50 PM ^

...Albion College is one of the top small liberal arts colleges in the country, and I don't see them prizing football players over academic integrity. 

Edit: After reading more about it, I should clarify and say that I doubt it was a problem with poor grades.  It sounds like he left EMU for Albion because for some reason his credits from Northwood wouldn't transfer to EMU (but presumably they would to Albion) which would have meant he had to sit out a year at EMU in order to become once again academically eligible.  I don't know if this is some NCAA rule quirk in transferring from a division III to a division I school, or simply a quirk between schools, but given that Albion has a stronger academic reputation than EMU, I don't think it has to do with performance.

Ziff72

April 30th, 2012 at 2:48 PM ^

Come on guys I can't believe the internet has failed.  I expected his next door neighbor, 2 guys that played with , a guy who played against him and his coach from middle school to already have chimed in with mulitple responses that had slightly differnt plausibility causing the rest of us to doubt you and put your post on trial like it was "A Few Good Men".    At the least I figured a smart ass with a quick google search who found a dent article to tell me to just type his name in google. 

Don't let me down internet!  Solve this mystery!

M.I.Sicks

April 30th, 2012 at 3:11 PM ^

He was obviously teammates with Nick Perry, so how the hell did all the scouts that were around the program scouting Nick Perry miss on this kid?

anthony32

April 30th, 2012 at 3:32 PM ^

As a alumn from MLK I can say that when Chris graduated from King he was a very skinny raw athlete with a lot of potential.  He only played corner and did not go to a bunch of camps. He did not play with Nick Perry. Chris actually came out the year before Nick transferred in from Detroit McKenzie.  He actually worked his butt off to get where he is today. In Michigan we have late bloomers since we dont workout in the spring like other states. He had a bunch on GLIAC Divison II schools that wanted him after high school. He left Norwood after a redshirt year and then tried to walk on at EMU. Didnt want to sit out so he just played at Albion. Great story and also a great Kid.

Ziff72

April 30th, 2012 at 5:27 PM ^

Internet wins again. Thanks for the info.  Makes a little more sense.  Still hard to imagine a good kid like that can't get a look from the MAC schools. I have no idea about the coaches there at the time or currently but without knowing all the details this seems like a failure of the coaching staff to get him a look. 

BlueBadger

April 30th, 2012 at 6:20 PM ^

about late bloomers. In places like Texas, they get kids in the weight room early, with no regard for the evidence that lifting too early is unhealthy. There is of course some of that in Michigan, but it is much less of an emphasis. This means kids can become great atheletes in college that did not stand out in HS. 

Mich_Faithful

April 30th, 2012 at 3:45 PM ^

I actually had a lecture with Chris at Albion, in which we'd be in the same discussion group because we both sat in the same general area in the room. Was always a quiet kid, eat hit that video was the most I've ever seen him talk. I'm sure I've also seen him at a few parties as well.

yzerman19

April 30th, 2012 at 4:08 PM ^

I saw prater from Iowa who i always thought was solid still around when greenwood was picked, as well as some others who would presumably be safer picks.  Very interesting to say the least.