It was an anxious two days in the Glasgow household, graduated Michigan defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow said, but it was all worth it after the Cincinnati Bengals took him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
Glasgow, a second-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago, notched 18.5 tackles for loss in his career and notched four sacks. He went higher than expected, and he admitted it caught him a bit off guard.
“I never really talked to their D-line coach, I don't believe. I didn't have a private workout with them,” he said in a conference call. “I was kind of surprised when I got the call from the Cincinnati area code because I haven't talked to them much, but I guess I was on their board and I was the next man up, and I'm really happy to join the Bengals.
“[But] I know a decent amount about their d-line. My D-line coach, Greg Mattison, coached Carlos Dunlap when he was at Florida, so we watched a bit of their tape. I just know that they have a really athletic D-line. They’re all really good. Geno Atkins is a beast. So, there are a lot of good guys on that defensive line.”
There’s talk that he’ll only be a two-down guy, unable to rush the passer at the next level, but Glasgow hopes to prove those wrong. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is one who believes he can be more.
“He’s a lunch-pail type guy. We went there to work him out — great kid, everybody talks so highly about the guy,” he said. “His brother [Graham] is a guard with the Detroit Lions, so he’s got some lineage there and some familiarity with the NFL game.
“He was one of the guys who really stood out to us at the Senior Bowl. We watched that both as a pass rusher and an interior run defender, so we’re really happy to bolster our D-Line in both areas.”
“Glasgow is a technician,” line coach Jacob Burney added. “He has square shoulders, a flat back, and is a powerful kid. That means a lot for a defense.
"They’ve done a great job with this kid at Michigan, and he’s taken a hold of the position with his mentality. That’s who he is; if you tell him to take a hold of the linebacker, he’ll get that job done.”
Glasgow takes pride in that, and he expects to hold up his end of the bargain.
“I’m going to do whatever the coaching staff wants and whatever makes the organization better,” he said, noting Michigan was run like an NFL team under head coach Jim Harbaugh. “It will help ease the transition. I know there will still be a learning curve, but I think I will be helped out by the fact that I played for Harbaugh.”
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