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There are more similarities between Daryn Colledge and Mike Wahle than the extensive tattoos they have on their upper arms.
There's the athleticism, the intelligence, the explosiveness and the attitude.
It makes you wonder if the Green Bay Packers were looking for a clone of Wahle, the talented left guard they released last year after being unable to meet his contract demands. Especially after they inserted the second-round pick from Boise State at Wahle's old starting position on his first day at minicamp.
"I think that would be very unfair to say that about him," general manager Ted Thompson said. "They've got some similar characteristics, but he'll have to be his own man. There are some similarities, yes, but they were different players in college. They have similar size and frame, they both can run, they both have quickness, they're both intelligent.
"But I don't think it's fair to say he's Mike Wahle."
If the Packers are lucky, he will be. There's no question Thompson was intrigued by Colledge's athleticism the same way he was when he conducted a personal workout of Wahle in the thick California fog in 1998. Numbers for that workout are hard to find, but those who are familiar with them say they compare almost equally with Colledge's.
At the scouting combine in Indianapolis, Colledge ran the third-fastest 40-yard dash time of any offensive lineman (5.05 seconds), had the second-best vertical leap (32½ inches), tied for the third-best broad jump (9 feet 2 inches), ran the third-fastest cone drill (7.46 seconds) and posted an impressive 30 on the Wonderlic intelligence test. He measured 6 feet 4¼ inches and 299 pounds, which is about 2 inches shorter and 5 pounds lighter than what Wahle was coming out of the Naval Academy.
Colledge, who began his Packers career making the transition from tackle to guard, said he is aware of the comparisons with Wahle, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth last season playing for the Carolina Panthers. But he scoffed at the notion he was going to be able to fill his shoes any time soon.
"I don't think it's fair to Mike," Colledge said during a break between practices. "He's a great player, an established player, and I'm a rookie trying to find a spot on a team. So I hope one day I can be a player like that, but for right now I'm just a guy trying to earn a job."
There are plenty of National Football League coaches and scouts who might be surprised at Colledge's response. Their impression is that he has too high an opinion of himself and they worry he might be someone who won't take coaching very well.
At the combine, Colledge turned off a lot of people with his self-assuredness during the 10-minute interview sessions he had with various teams. The Packers were not one of those teams.
"Our guys liked him," Thompson said. "He spoke well. He's a man who believes he can play. I don't know that that's a bad thing. You've got to put on a good face at the combine because you're interviewing for a job and that might be what happened. We did a lot of checking and we spoke to a lot of people there (at Boise State). We didn't think it was a problem."
Colledge said some people might have gotten the wrong impression from his interviews, but he said he was merely conducting the sessions as if he were applying for a job at Microsoft. He said he didn't think it was a good idea to make it seem like he was just happy to go from tiny North Pole, Alaska, and a mid-major university to the NFL.
He said he wanted to make it clear he was going to succeed on the next level.
"I never felt I've been a cocky person," Colledge said. "I'm confident in my ability. I didn't want any of those guys to think that I didn't have the belief I could come in and be a contributor. I didn't want them to think I was going to sit back and have a small-town mentality about it.
"Yeah, I took them seriously. I'm not going to waste their time. They have a job to do and they're paying good money to be here and I wanted them to know I was serious about coming to their city and helping them out."
Basically, Colledge told them what he could do in the pros, how he performed in college and what his strengths and weaknesses were. He said he does not regret approaching the sessions as a job interview because he said it partly reflected the chip on his shoulder he has had getting to this level.
It's a chip that might rub people the wrong way, but Colledge said it has driven him to where he is now. Those who take the time to get to know him will realize where he's coming from.
"I think they'll realize a locker-room guy, a good guy to be around," Colledge said. "I'm a great teammate and hopefully we can be together a long time and win some championships. I'm not here to lose games. I'm here to win games and win championships."
The Packers have been impressed with Colledge's ability to pull and fire out and block linebackers, but they also know he needs work in the weight room. He tied for 23rd in bench-press testing at the combine with 21 repetitions of 225 pounds.
"He's explosive like we thought he was," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Very quick hands. You could see that in the three-step pass-rush drills that we did yesterday. He's able to get to the second level, which is really important in the lead zone run scheme. It's something you saw at Boise. He's able to get to the second level. He looks good."
There's the athleticism, the intelligence, the explosiveness and the attitude.
It makes you wonder if the Green Bay Packers were looking for a clone of Wahle, the talented left guard they released last year after being unable to meet his contract demands. Especially after they inserted the second-round pick from Boise State at Wahle's old starting position on his first day at minicamp.
"I think that would be very unfair to say that about him," general manager Ted Thompson said. "They've got some similar characteristics, but he'll have to be his own man. There are some similarities, yes, but they were different players in college. They have similar size and frame, they both can run, they both have quickness, they're both intelligent.
"But I don't think it's fair to say he's Mike Wahle."
If the Packers are lucky, he will be. There's no question Thompson was intrigued by Colledge's athleticism the same way he was when he conducted a personal workout of Wahle in the thick California fog in 1998. Numbers for that workout are hard to find, but those who are familiar with them say they compare almost equally with Colledge's.
At the scouting combine in Indianapolis, Colledge ran the third-fastest 40-yard dash time of any offensive lineman (5.05 seconds), had the second-best vertical leap (32½ inches), tied for the third-best broad jump (9 feet 2 inches), ran the third-fastest cone drill (7.46 seconds) and posted an impressive 30 on the Wonderlic intelligence test. He measured 6 feet 4¼ inches and 299 pounds, which is about 2 inches shorter and 5 pounds lighter than what Wahle was coming out of the Naval Academy.
Colledge, who began his Packers career making the transition from tackle to guard, said he is aware of the comparisons with Wahle, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth last season playing for the Carolina Panthers. But he scoffed at the notion he was going to be able to fill his shoes any time soon.
"I don't think it's fair to Mike," Colledge said during a break between practices. "He's a great player, an established player, and I'm a rookie trying to find a spot on a team. So I hope one day I can be a player like that, but for right now I'm just a guy trying to earn a job."
There are plenty of National Football League coaches and scouts who might be surprised at Colledge's response. Their impression is that he has too high an opinion of himself and they worry he might be someone who won't take coaching very well.
At the combine, Colledge turned off a lot of people with his self-assuredness during the 10-minute interview sessions he had with various teams. The Packers were not one of those teams.
"Our guys liked him," Thompson said. "He spoke well. He's a man who believes he can play. I don't know that that's a bad thing. You've got to put on a good face at the combine because you're interviewing for a job and that might be what happened. We did a lot of checking and we spoke to a lot of people there (at Boise State). We didn't think it was a problem."
Colledge said some people might have gotten the wrong impression from his interviews, but he said he was merely conducting the sessions as if he were applying for a job at Microsoft. He said he didn't think it was a good idea to make it seem like he was just happy to go from tiny North Pole, Alaska, and a mid-major university to the NFL.
He said he wanted to make it clear he was going to succeed on the next level.
"I never felt I've been a cocky person," Colledge said. "I'm confident in my ability. I didn't want any of those guys to think that I didn't have the belief I could come in and be a contributor. I didn't want them to think I was going to sit back and have a small-town mentality about it.
"Yeah, I took them seriously. I'm not going to waste their time. They have a job to do and they're paying good money to be here and I wanted them to know I was serious about coming to their city and helping them out."
Basically, Colledge told them what he could do in the pros, how he performed in college and what his strengths and weaknesses were. He said he does not regret approaching the sessions as a job interview because he said it partly reflected the chip on his shoulder he has had getting to this level.
It's a chip that might rub people the wrong way, but Colledge said it has driven him to where he is now. Those who take the time to get to know him will realize where he's coming from.
"I think they'll realize a locker-room guy, a good guy to be around," Colledge said. "I'm a great teammate and hopefully we can be together a long time and win some championships. I'm not here to lose games. I'm here to win games and win championships."
The Packers have been impressed with Colledge's ability to pull and fire out and block linebackers, but they also know he needs work in the weight room. He tied for 23rd in bench-press testing at the combine with 21 repetitions of 225 pounds.
"He's explosive like we thought he was," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Very quick hands. You could see that in the three-step pass-rush drills that we did yesterday. He's able to get to the second level, which is really important in the lead zone run scheme. It's something you saw at Boise. He's able to get to the second level. He looks good."
