Ozzie Newsome Details His Philosophy as an NFL GM [Audio]

Through 125 years of college football in Tuscaloosa, Alabama football observers have watched multitudes of players and coaches have helped build one of the preeminent programs in college athletics.

One player that helped define Alabama’s run of greatness in the 1970s was Ozzie Newsome. He recorded over 2,000 receiving yards along with 16 touchdowns from 1974-1977. After his playing days at Alabama, Newsome was the tight end for the Cleveland Browns from 1978-1990.

In 2002, the former Alabama star became the general manager for the Baltimore Ravens and has not relinquished that title.

During Wednesday’s edition of Inside the Locker Room, Newsome reflected on his playing career at Alabama as well as the approach he takes to his position as Baltimore’s general manager.

The former NFL tight end broke down the challenges of evaluating offensive line prospects transitioning from college to pro football.

“In the offensive line right now, when you watch a college game, how many times do you see a guy in a three-point stance? They’re all in the two-point stance. They’re playing in these offenses where they’re throwing the ball 75-80 percent of the time.” Newsome said. “You never see a guy get in a stance, come off the ball and unlock his hips. So you got to sit there and project whether a guy can do it or just look at the small sample size that you have when watching those guys.”

Newsome also examined the challenges that defensive backs face when entering the NFL.

“The secondary and corners, they let you get away with so much in college. You can grab and hold and pull and that’s not allowed on our level. You got your things you can do inside of five yards and then after that, you got to use your athleticism and your speed and your instinct and all those things to be able to cover these guys.”

While discussing the process that leads to making their selections during the NFL Draft, Newsome touched on what he looks for in future player for the Ravens.

“We chose good character over competence all the time.” Newsome stated.

The general manager for the Baltimore Ravens would go on to elaborate on how and why character is a critical component in their draft process, the atmosphere at Alabama during his playing days under Paul Bryant and the feedback he provided Mal Moore during the process that led to Nick Saban’s hiring at Alabama.

Catch Inside the Locker Room every weekday from 7-9 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the radioPup app.