Oddsmakers list Jedrick Wills as the favorite ahead of Tristan Wirfs to be the first offensive lineman off the board on Thursday night and the two players have something in common as they embark on their professional careers.
Both men played right tackle in college and are likely to be switching sides once they hit the NFL. Wills’ coach at Alabama Nick Saban said he believes Wills has the “physical abilities” to make the move and Wills shared how the process of preparing for a potential move has been going.
“It’s been going pretty well,” Wills said, via Cleveland.com. “Of course it’s pretty much on my own now without coaches and everything, just preparing for this draft process. But for the most part, it’s been a smooth transition and I’m doing what I can on my own for now until I actually make a team and then we’ll see what their judgement is on it.”
Wills didn’t share Wirfs’ explanation for the difference between the positions -- “It kinda feels like wiping your butt with your other hand,” Wirfs said recently -- but did say that there needs to be “a whole different set of tools that you have to use to play on that side” of the line.
Wills may not know what side of the line he will be on in his NFL debut, but he shouldn’t have to wait too much longer to know who he’ll be playing for when that moment arrives.
