Former Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, who played at Lassiter High, was medically cleared recently and plans to complete all of the drills at the NFL scouting combine.
“I finally got cleared three weeks ago to do everything,” Lutzenkirchen said Thursday. “I’ve had about two weeks of training for all of the events here. I’m going to give it my best, but my (40-yard dash) time probably won’t be my best. I will hopefully do a lot better on my pro day on March 5.”
Lutzenkirchen’s senior season was cut short when he suffered a hip injury. He had surgery Oct. 24. Earlier in his career, he helped the Tigers win the BCS national title.
“I definitely had a blessed career at Auburn,” Lutzenkirchen said. “I didn’t go out the way I wanted to, but that’s just how life goes. You’re going to experience highs. You’re going to experience lows.”
Stanford’s Zach Ertz, Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert and San Diego State’s Gavin Escobar are considered the top tight ends in the draft. Lutzenkirchen is not sure where he’ll land.
“I have three good years of tape in the SEC, so teams know what I can do,” Lutzenkirchen said. “They know that I played at a high level in the best conference. So, I’m not too worried about it.”
Lutzenkirchen felt his medical examinations at the combine Wednesday and Thursday went well. He had a shoulder surgery in February 2012.
“I cleared everything,” he said. “There were no red flags. Right now, in their mind and my mind, I’m healthy. That’s all that matters.”
Freeman supported: Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano clarified earlier comments he made this offseason about Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman.
“Josh Freeman is our quarterback, and I believe that with Josh Freeman, we’ll be able to accomplish our goals,” Schiano said. “That’s my belief and our organization’s belief.”
Schiano said that his comments at his season-end news conference were more about creating competition at all positions, and it wasn’t his intention to single out Freeman, who has a 24-32 record over four seasons in the NFL.
Allen fortunate: Former N.C. State guard Zach Allen, who played at Tift County High, plans to lift at the combine. He's recovering from a foot injury and will not run.
“It’s a great opportunity to come in and show my talents,” said Allen, who’s 6-foot-3 and weighs 330 pounds.
Social media: NFL teams are doing more social-media background checks on players in wake of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's girlfriend-hoax situation.
But Carolina coach Ron Rivera is not big on the social-media front.
“The bottom line is, is he a good person and can he play football,” Rivera said.
South gap: After the Falcons (13-3), the three NFC South members finished at 7-9 last season.
“If you look at the records, the gap is big,” Rivera said. “We’ll go from there. Atlanta is a great football team and had a great season. They are the best team, and we’re all shooting at them.
“New Orleans, with coach (Sean) Payton back, they’ll pose another tough team to play against going forward. Tampa is getting better. I think the gap can be closed. We are working in that direction. But, for right now, the benchmark for us in the South is Atlanta.”
Arians elated: Bruce Arians, 60, a longtime NFL assistant, thought his chance to become a NFL head coach had passed. Arizona picked him to replace Ken Whisenhunt in January after he guided the Colts to a 9-3 mark while coach Chuck Pagano was out with leukemia.
“I was extremely excited because of the situation,” Arians said. “There is going to be a young quarterback again, a young offense and a chance to maybe have that relationship that I had with Peyton (Manning), Ben (Roethlisberger) and Tim Couch. That was very exciting. I didn’t think it would lead to this.”
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