Iowa’s Scherff has no position preference but ready for NFL battles

CHICAGO - Brandon Scherff walked on a small, grass football field and was met by a dozen ambitious youngsters as part of the NFL's Play 60 campaign.

Scherff was among 27 draft prospects taking part in the clinic. Then, he stood off to the side. The former Iowa tackle, in his final day of semi-anonymity, saw the settings around Chicago's Grant Park and reality set in. Thursday night, he's a first-round draft pick and the youthful face of a franchise.

'Just seeing the NFL draft, like the posters on the hotel and all that, it's a dream come true,” Scherff said. 'Just got to take in every minute.”

Scherff is a hulking 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle who projects as a top-10 draft selection. He's likely to be Iowa's fourth first-round offensive tackle and seventh first-rounder in Coach Kirk Ferentz's 17 years. Scherff almost certainly will be Iowa's highest selection since Robert Gallery went No. 2 overall in 2004.

At heart, Scherff remains a small-town Iowa boy who invited four of his Denison-Schleswig coaches to the draft. Scherff would prefer to fish or hunt and then hold a draft party at home. But he's in Chicago, and he found time to reflect on his past in a nostalgic way.

'It's been a heck of a journey going from quarterback to tight end to offensive line, getting my butt kicked by (Adrian) Clayborn and all of them up front,” Scherff said. 'Learning from (Riley) Reiff and (Matt) Tobin and (James) Ferentz and all of those guys that have helped me get to where I'm at.”

Scherff, the reigning Outland Trophy winner and a consensus All-American, might look small town but he's a sledgehammer in the trenches. He's rated as the draft's best offensive line prospect and likely the first off the board. His resume includes a wrecking-ball blitz pickup of a Pittsburgh defensive back last year and a mauling of Ohio State linebacker (and Pittsburgh Steelers top draft pick) Ryan Shazier in 2013.

But he's not without his critics. In what has become a semiannual ritual, another Iowa lineman was sent from left tackle to another position by draft analysts. First it was Marshal Yanda, who has become one of the NFL's best guards. Then both Bryan Bulaga and Reiff figuratively were kicked inside or to right tackle because of arm length. Bulaga currently plays right tackle for Green Bay, while Reiff stayed at left tackle and anchors the Detroit Lions' offensive line.

'You've got guys who are technically sound, tough, physical and they're quick footed,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who worked as a scout with the Baltimore Ravens when they selected Yanda. 'Sometimes in the redirect stuff, they struggle a little bit. That's my issue with Scherff and why he has to kick in. I thought Riley coming out was a little more fluid. People look at testing numbers. Forget all that. Just to be able to slide and redirect, Riley Reiff does that better than Scherff coming out. I think Scherff could kick inside to guard and be a massive guy in the run game. A people mover.”

'I don't think (Scherff's) got the range you'd like in a left tackle, especially now with the way everybody's throwing the ball and stuff,” said Dan Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads Scouting Services. 'You've got to be able to get out there and get a guy and get depth and come up the field and take a double-move guy and take him inside. He got beat inside.”

Among Scherff's worst outings were in pass protection against Maryland and Iowa State. Against Maryland, Iowa passed 34 of its final 36 plays. Against Iowa State, Scherff played five days after repairing a torn meniscus in his knee.

'That was brought up a lot, especially in the training room,” Scherff said. '‘I think there's a misprint on here. It says you practiced one day after surgery.' I'm like, ‘No, that's right.' They said, ‘Oh, I've never heard that happen before.' That's really helped to show I'll do whatever it takes to get on the field.”

'You give him points for toughness for doing that, no question,” Jeremiah said.

While left tackle protects the quarterback's blind side and carries prestige, Scherff has no preference. He played guard his freshman year at Iowa, then started 33 games at left tackle. He met with 23 teams at the NFL Scouting Combine and has taken two site visits - the New York Giants and an undisclosed team. When asked about a position preference, Scherff provided the same answer each time.

'I see myself playing at guard or tackle,” Scherff said. 'If they want me at center, I'll play that, too. Wherever they want me, I'll do my best.”

Either way, people notice his strengths. NFL administrators repeatedly asked him about his 443-pound hang clean at the combine. His run blocking is considered his primary asset and it doesn't hurt that 13 Iowa offensive linemen have been selected under Ferentz.

Longtime ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. repeatedly has called Scherff the draft's safest pick, a day-one starter somewhere along the offensive line. Former Super Bowl winning coach Jon Gruden, now an ESPN color analyst for 'Monday Night Football,” said it doesn't matter where Scherff plays.

'What is Scherff going to be? Who cares!” Gruden told ESPN.com. 'If you take him, he is probably going to be your best left tackle. If you move him to guard, he'll be your best guard. If you play him at right tackle, he will be your best right tackle.”

'To me it's what you want,” Jeremiah said. 'If you want somebody to play guard and be dominant in the run game, I think he's going to give you that. If you want to play him at tackle and think he's going to hold up in the passing protection 35 times a game, I think you'll be a little disappointed.”

Scherff doesn't consider Thursday's draft a pressure situation. To him, it's a reward.

'You've just got to have fun with it,” he said. 'When your name's called, just be grateful for the opportunity and go out and play.”

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