King was surprisingly not drafted last weekend, but there was a flood of calls to him and his agent, Richard Rosa, after the draft.

In other news about former Hawkeyes:

Center Rob Bruggeman was one of eight rookie free agents signed by Tampa Bay but one of 52 players hitting the field for rookie mini-camp.

Here’s more on wide receiver Andy Brodell, who failed his physical before the Packers’ mini-camp on Friday.

Running back Shonn Greene shows his strength — and weaknesses in the Jets’ mini-camp. Defensive tackle Matt Kroul also is at the Jets’ mini-camp.

A St. Louis Rams blog discusses cornerback Bradley Fletcher’s chances of improving the porous Rams defense.

Tight end Brandon Myers is seen as strictly a blocking tight end in Oakland.

Here’s more analysis on guard Seth Olsen.

Former Iowa wide receiver Andy Brodell didn’t even make it to his first practice.

Brodell failed his physical with the Green Bay Packers because of a torn hamstring, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Brodell told the paper he plans to speak with his agent and try to sign with another team.

Other Iowa football players were issued new numbers for the upcoming season.

Defensive tackle Mitch King (Tennessee) No. 62

Center Rob Bruggeman (Tampa Bay) No. 66

Tight end Brandon Myers (Oakland) No. 83

Guard Seth Olsen (Denver) No. 70

Cornerback Bradley Fletcher (St. Louis) No. 32

Running back Shonn Greene and defensive tackle Matt Kroul (both of the N.Y. Jets) have not been assigned numbers.

Detroit’s Jared DeVries (95) tips Chicago Bears kicker Paul Edinger’s field-goal attempt in the second quarter in Detroit on Nov. 9, 2003. The field-goal attempt was no good. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former Iowa All-American Jared DeVries has seen many a savior come and go during his 11-year career with the Detroit Lions.

DeVries, a 32-year-old defensive end, was present the last time Detroit played in the postseason in 1999. He was there when the franchise hired—and later fired—president and general manager Matt Millen. He was also there in 2002 when the Lions drafted Oregon quarterback Joey “Blue Skies” Harrington and four wide receivers in the first round of five successive drafts.

The Lions are now on their seventh coach in DeVries’ tenure, the second-longest on the team.

The team picked first in last weekend’s NFL draft by virtue of its historic 0-16 season in 2008. So, that background should also give DeVries an open microphone for cynicism about his team. Instead, he chose optimism.

Detroit picked Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford No. 1 overall. Stafford signed a six-year contract worth up to $78 million in incentives, including $41.7 million in guaranteed money. That’s the largest guarantee in NFL history. DeVries told the Detroit Free Press that drafting Stafford made sense.

“It’s a good pick,” DeVries said. “Everybody felt we were going in that direction. You never know until draft day, and hopefully he’ll be a good quarterback for us.”

DeVries, however, joined the multitude of veteran players displeased with Stafford’s deal.

”I think we as players kind of messed up, and we need to fix the system,” said DeVries, who reportedly will earn $1.3 million this  year. “Rookies are getting paid entirely too much without playing a down in the NFL.”

DeVries suffered a broken left hand in the Lions’ ninth game against Jacksonville. He sat out one game, then returned only to re-break it against Tampa Bay. He had season-ending surgery two days later.

Iowa’s Jared DeVries haunts Wisconsin quarterback Mike Samuel (10) and brings him down for a 6-yard loss in the first quarter. DeVries had three sacks, costing the Badgers 18 yards on Oct. 24, 1998.

DeVries, a former Aplington-Parkersburg all-state running back, had 45 tackles, two sacks, defended four passes, and recovered one fumble last year in 10 games—all starts.

He had his best season in 2007, when he started 14 games, recorded 54 tackles, notced 6.5 sacks, recovered and forced three fumbles, and notched one safety.

Mayock On Greene

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said former Iowa running back Shonn Greene has a solid opportunity to play this season for the New York Jets.

The Jets moved up 11 spots in the third round and traded three picks with Detroit to select Greene with the third round’s first pick.

“I had him late (round) two,  mid three, so that’s about where I thought he’d go,” Mayock said. “I think it’s pretty exciting for him, growing up in New Jersey and now being joined at the hip with (top draft pick quarterback) Mark Sanchez. I think that’s an exciting opportunity.”

Greene, 23, could step in and play right away with the Jets. Starting running back Thomas Jones, 31, rushed for more than 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, but is sitting out all offseason workouts.

“I think what (drafting Greene) does is provide them with an insurance policy,” Mayock said. “Thomas Jones is getting older and wants a new contract. Ultimately, I think (Greene’s) a really good fit with Leon Washington.”

Last year Greene won the Doak Walker Award, which annually is given to the nation’s best running back. He was a consensus All-American and rushed for 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was the fifth running back selected in the draft.

Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe gives instructions to quarterback Ricky Stanzi during the third quarter of the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 1, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. Iowa beat South Carolina, 31-10. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — Within seconds of his team’s final spring football practice, Iowa quarterback Rick Stanzi showed a new side of himself.

Yes, like most veteran Iowa football players, he spouted coached-up cliches about working hard every day, competition and trying to get better. But he had a new look to him as well.

Gone is the flopping hair that Stanzi wore throughout the 2008 season. Stanzi, a current sophomore, now features a trim haircut.

“I think it’s more of a comfort thing,” Stanzi said. “I was saying I was going to grow my hair out for the season. And the next thing you know you flip a switch in your head and you say, ‘Ah, I’ll just cut it. It’s just better this way.’”

In the Hawkeyes’ final spring scrimmage, Stanzi was fairly sharp. Unofficially, he completed 6 of 12 passes during team competition for 91 yards. Stanzi — whether it was intentional or he was smooth through his reads — appeared to throw toward his primary option in all but one of passes.

“Rick certainly improved this spring,” Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe said. “From his leadership ability to making decisions at the line of scrimmage to getting us in to the right types of plays and getting the ball where it’s supposed to go, most importantly as well. So he took advantage of each and every one of the 15 workouts that we had and took his job seriously and really came away a better player.”

Stanzi started 11 games last year. He completed 150 of 254 passes for 1,956 yards and 14 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions but finished fourth in the Big Ten in passer efficiency.

In the offseason he’s watched tape on multiple NFL quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Cassel and tried to emulate some of their performances. But more importantly, Stanzi has tried to refine his game entering his junior season.

Stanzi ran 56 times last year for a net of 20 yards, which also was his longest run. He often scattered from the pocket if his primary receiver was covered.

“If there’s one thing that I really tried to work on it was probably be comfortable in the pocket,” Stanzi said. “It’s kind of hard to not practice that when you don’t have the line in front of you, and you’re in 7-on-7 drills. You try to soak up each rep that you get when you’ve got a full rush coming on and it’s not always easy. But it’s something, watching film and practicing as much as you can in the offseason, I hope to fix and so I can sit in the pocket and make better decisions and be more sure with my feet.”

When addressing the media, Stanzi now seems more confident when talking about his role. He sticks to the successful concepts of hard work, improvement and consistency. But, according to Coach Kirk Ferentz, he’s added one more successful trait this offseason.

“The most growth I’ve seen from him, and this started before we started spring practice, is just in the leadership realm,” Ferentz said. “But that’s what you expect again from a guy who has played and has got the confidence of actually playing on the field and has had some success. So the next step for me, especially at that position, is grow to a leadership role, and I think he’s done that. The players really respect what he does, how he works and his toughness.”

James Vandenberg

Stanzi clearly is the starter, but he faces competition from incoming red-shirt freshmen James Vandenberg and John Wienke. Unofficially, Vandenberg completed 8 of 10 passes in the scrimmage for 132 yards.

Stanzi is no stranger to competition at Iowa. About 14 months ago he was locked in with three other quarterbacks, including incumbent Jake Christensen, entering spring practice. Since then, Christensen and Arvell Nelson either have transferred or will transfer and Marvin McNutt was shifted to wide receiver.

“You’re always competing,” Stanzi said. “That’s the only way anyone can get better.”

Iowa quarterbacks Ricky Stanzi (12) and John Wienke (14) workout during the team’s practice March 25, 2009 at the Kenyon Football Practice Facility in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

Former Iowa center Rob Bruggeman from Cedar Rapids Washington Prep signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Former Iowa defensive tackle Matt Kroul, who hails from Mount Vernon, signed with the New York Jets.

Former Iowa receiver and Ankeny native Andy Brodell signed a free-agent deal with Green Bay.

Former Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King, a Burlington native, was unsigned as of Sunday evening but his agent was negotiating a contract.

Here’s the story on the players who were drafted Sunday:

Former Iowa running back Shonn Greene sat unwanted and unloved through the first two rounds of the NFL draft Saturday.

Sunday morning, Greene felt the love in record time.

Greene, 23, was selected by the New York Jets with the first pick in the third round Sunday, No. 65 overall. The Jets traded up 11 spots with the Detroit Lions to pick Greene and gave up their third-, fourth- and seventh-round picks to get him.

Jets Coach Rex Ryan told ESPN that Greene is a “rare talent.”

“He was the best player that was on our board,” Jets Coach Rex Ryan said. “In our opinion, it wasn’t close.

“He’s a big, powerful running back. We want to have a little ground and pound.”

Greene was one of four Iowa players drafted Sunday. Former Iowa cornerback Bradley Fletcher went one pick after Greene to St. Louis (66).

Denver drafted Iowa guard Seth Olsen in the fourth round (132 overall) and Oakland traded up to get Myers in the sixth round (202).

Greene, 23, finished with 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns, both school records at Iowa. He ran for at least 100 yards in all 13 Iowa games last season.

Greene won the Doak Walker Award, which annually is given to college football’s best running back. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American.

Greene was the fifth running back drafted this weekend. Greene will compete with Jets veteran Thomas Jones and playmaker Leon Washington for time at running back. Greene was the Jets’ second pick in the draft behind USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

“It was Shonn and then it was a pretty precipitous jump from there,” Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum told reporters. “It was the gulf between him and the rest of the guys that made it a pretty easy decision.”

“The game of football is a physical sport. That’s why I enjoy it so much,” Greene told reporters. “I love contact. It’s violent, it’s quick, it’s fast. That’s just the nature of my game, how I like to play the game.”

Fletcher, 22, registered 60 tackles and three interceptions last year and was an honorable mention all-Big Ten selection.

“He played behind a pretty good (player) two years ago (Charles Godfrey), and he actually started four games in there,” Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo told reporters. And he has started games all the way through.

He started games as a sophomore. He started them as a junior. And then he surfaced this year. It’s just like Billy (Devaney, the Rams’ general manager) said, when you put on the tape, he fits well for what we’re going to ask those guys to do. That was the biggest thing.”

“I feel that I have my best football ahead of me right now, and I’m looking forward to showing that on the field,” Fletcher said.

Olsen, 23, was a first-team all-Big Ten guard last fall. He told reporters his versatility will help him compete for a spot along Denver’s offensive line.

“I feel like I can play guard and tackle, and who knows, maybe center as well,” Olsen said. “I haven’t had any snaps there but am willing to give it a shot.”

The Raiders moved up in the sixth round to grab Myers, 23. The Raiders surrendered this year’s seventh-round pick and next year’s sixth-round pick to snag Iowa’s tight end.

Iowa offensive lineman Seth Olsen talks to reporters during Iowa’s annual football media day, Aug. 4, 2008, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

IOWA CITY — Dan Shonka describes former Iowa guard Seth Olsen as a finished product.

That doesn’t mean Olsen, 23, is ready to pound the likes of NFL defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth anytime soon. But Olsen can step into just about any offensive scheme and understand what the offensive line coach is talking about.

“Olsen can put his hat on you,” said Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads Scouting Services, LLC. “He can block in the zone-blocking scheme, he can run his feet into you, he’s smart, he’s aggressive, he does a lot of good things.”

“We like him, he’s liked by a lot of offensive line coaches. He’s definitely a guy with ability to block in zone schemes, he’s valued for that and his understanding of zone blocking schemes.”

Shonka ranks Olsen (6-foot-4.5 inches, 306 pounds) as the 11th-best guard in this draft. Shonka said has got “pretty good first-step quickness” but “he could use a little more body strength.” Shonka projects Olsen as a fifth-round pick going to Indianapolis.

Olsen was voted a first-team All-Big Ten offensive lineman by both the league’s coaches and media outlets. He was named to four different All-American squads, including first-team by Rivals.com.

Former Iowa wide receiver Andy Brodell (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) also is vying to make an NFL club. Shonka said Brodell reminds him of former Iowa receiver Kevin Kasper, who covered and returned kicks for several different NFL teams.

“If (Brodell) could go down and make tackles on special teams, coverage teams and be your fourth or fifth receiver, he’ll have a shot at making a ballclub,” Shonka said. “A lot of times you can’t find that third, fourth or fifth receiver that can make a tackle on a special team.”

Brodell’s top performance came in the 2006 Alamo Bowl, where he caught six passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. But in 2007, he suffered a torn hamstring against Wisconsin and missed the final eight games.

Brodell totaled 961 yards last year. He caught 36 passes for 533 yards and four touchdowns. He was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown clinched Iowa’s 17-5 win against Iowa State.

All right, I’m going to step out of my journalism shell for a second. I’ve caught some junk from some friends of mine from my hometown of Burlington about not mentioning Mitch King’s hometown. His hometown happens to be … Burlington.

OK, here it goes for just a paragraph. I played for Burlington’s only team to win a playoff game back in the early 1990s (Oct. 29, 1991). I coached there for a season. Burlington is as much a part of me as my family and the state of Iowa.

I’m happy that a former Grayhound like Mitch King is going to the NFL. Anyone who shed his blood at Bracewell Stadium for the purple and gray can feel proud this weekend for King. That includes myself.

Now, back to journalism and a story on King that will appear in Saturday’s Gazette.

Purdue quarterback Justin Siller (5) looks to throw a pass as he is pressured by Iowa’s Mitch King, right, during the first half Nov. 15, 2008, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

IOWA CITY—Some consider Mitch King too small for defensive tackle, too short for defensive end and too big for linebacker. But he seems just right for the NFL.

King, a former Iowa defensive tackle from Burlington, has the drive and tenacity that draft analysts love. He’s a vocal leader in the huddle and his passion for football shows up on every down.

“He’s loved by every defensive line coach out there because of his relentless play,” said Dan Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads Scouting Services LLC. “(King is) a high-motor, great-effort guy that had good Senior Bowl week. He’s very physical when he hits people. I think there’s a section in the Senior Bowl game where he made three or four tackles in a row, where he just dominated in there.”

King, 22, didn’t start in the Senior Bowl, but he registered four tackles, including three tackles in a four-play series. He also recorded a quarterback hurry.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. calls King “a hustler.”

“Every team is not going to look at Mitch King and say he’s going to be way up there,” Kiper said. “But he’s a guy who’s very, very productive—good technique, never quits on a play. (King is) a rotation guy and as a guy who can give you some versatility inside and a kid who spills his guts every play.”

King earned the Big Ten’s defensive lineman of the year award from league coaches. He had 15.5 tackles for a loss last year, including four sacks. He had 54 tackles, six quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.

He was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and first-team All-American by ESPN. He also was Iowa’s co-MVP and named a permanent team captain.

King’s tweener size seems to stump his high-round potential. He stands 6’1″ and weighs 280 pounds. Most teams prefer defensive tackles in the 300-pound range and slightly taller. King’s frame also keeps him from shifting fully to defensive end, where the preference is a little leaner and a little taller.

Iowa’s Mitch King puts his helmet on before playing Penn State, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

“He’s going to have to go in the right scheme,” Shonka said. “I think he’s going to probably be used as an undertackle in a four-man line. He’s going to be a one-gap penetrator where he can shoot up the field and only worry about one gap. He obviously won’t be a two-gap guy because he’s not big enough, but he’s got the explosive first-step quickness.”

Shonka said King reminds him of St. Louis Rams defensive tackle La’Roi Glover, who has earned six Pro Bowl bids. King and Glover are comparable in size.

“He might not be quite as fluid as La’Roi, but his [relentlessness] is very similar,” Shonka said.

King’s ability has others considering him for different positions. He came to Iowa as an all-state linebacker and played running back at Burlington. Shonka said King could move to linebacker or fullback as well.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if some ballclub tried to make a linebacker out of him, either inside or outside,” Shonka said. “We just kind of see him as that undertackle right now. He’ll play special teams. He can run well enough when he can go down and cover kicks.

“I wouldn’t worry about being 280 pounds and playing fullback, because there’s lots of teams sticking guys there as a lead blocker on the goal line, and he could do that, too. I’m sure with his explosiveness, his savvy for contact, he’d fit right in.”

King caught some passes during Iowa’s pro day in March, which induced a chuckle from Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz said King compares to former Hawkeye Jonathan Babineaux, who weighs 284 pounds but started all 16 games last year for the Atlanta Falcons.

“I think Mitch is a similar-type player,” Ferentz said. “He’s never going to be a 320-pound guy, but he’s an awfully good football player. People have acknowledged that, and for certain teams, that’s going to be really attractive. It’s just a matter of him finding the right niche.”