In his senior season at Iowa, Jets running back Shonn Greene set school records rushing for an astounding 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns en route to hauling in a number of honors, from Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year to All-America to the Doak Walker Award for the nation's best running back. That season set the stage for Greene to be picked with the first pick of the third round by the New York Jets, where he's made his home as the team's tailback.
During that magical 2008 season for Greene, it was common to see him running behind the left side of the offensive line, where the road was paved by left tackle Bryan Bulaga, who would go on to be a first-round selection by the Green Bay Packers, and left guard Julian Vandervelde. It was Vandervelde's first of three seasons as a starter, after which he would go on to join the Eagles as a fifth-round selection. As the rookie offensive lineman prepares to line up opposite his former teammate this Sunday, Vandervelde provided the scouting report on Greene.
"Well first of all, it was just really exciting blocking for him at Iowa," Vandervelde said. "It's really rare that you get a running back like that and while his style is, I would say, essentially the opposite of (LeSean McCoy's), just to have the opportunity to block for two running backs of that caliber in a lifetime is a blessing. But Shonn, as a person, was always really cool, quiet guy, very nice. As a player, he worked his butt off for everything that he got. He's a big guy, what you see is what you get, he's going to try to run you over most of the time, but he has deceptive speed at the same time."
Interestingly, McCoy and Greene both came into the league at the same time. Of the 20 running backs drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, McCoy and Greene rank first and second respectively in career rushing yards (Arian Foster of the Houston Texans, who went undrafted, would rank second behind McCoy). A 5-10, 235-pound bruiser, Greene has already rushed for a career-high 868 yards this season. McCoy, of course, is second in the league in rushing and leads the league with 17 touchdowns.
"He's a lot more downhill," Vandervelde said of Greene. "Shady's going to shake, he's going to make you miss, he's going to make you look silly quite frankly. Shonn Greene is a little bit more of, I'm going to try to run you over and we'll see who's bigger and stronger. Most of the time in college, that was Shonn. At the professional level, even though guys are bigger and a little bit stronger, he hasn't had quite the same level of success but he's still a good running back."
For Vandervelde, the 2011 season has been a learning experience as he adjusts to a new level of play and a new coaching scheme. But the rookie, who was an Academic All-Big Ten standout for all four years at Iowa, has learned the value of patience.
"It's a little frustrating, but at the same time, it's a great learning experience having a year under coach Mudd, under Howard, just seeing the way that he coaches and kind of understanding his coaching style, what he's looking for out of players," Vandervelde said. "Having Kyle DeVan here for a while helped out with that. It's a little bit frustrating, but at the same time, I know that God has a plan for me and when the time is right, I'll get a chance."
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