Texas A&M lineman has built-in payment plan for NFL Draft
Cedric Ogbuehi expects to be paid like a first-round pick regardless whether he goes in the first round.
Texas A&M took out an insurance policy on the offensive tackle last year, paying $60,000 to entice Ogbuehi to return for his senior season. Ogbuehi said he had four first-round grades last January, but decided to return to play left tackle.
Ogbuehi, who moved back to right tackle during the season, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in the Aggies’ Liberty Bowl victory over West Virginia. He projects as a second-round pick.
“I have to see where I go first,” Ogbuehi said, when asked what the policy would pay him.
The Allen High School product follows former Aggie offensive tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews as highly-regarded draft prospects. Ogbuehi, who measured 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, did 23 reps in the 225-pound bench press Thursday.
Catalon cleared
TCU running back B.J. Catalon said doctors cleared him from a concussion he suffered in a Nov. 1 game against West Virginia. He will participate in everything at the combine.
“I’m doing fine,” said Catalon, who measured 5-73/4 and weighed 186. “Everything has been well. I feel 100 percent. I’ve been working out and training and everything is good.”
Catalon finished with 2,554 all-purpose yards, including 1,644 career rushing yards. The only question scouts have about him, he said, pertains to his health.
“They want to know if I’m healthy again,” Catalon said. “I feel like I’m here to prove that.”
Catalon was the Horned Frogs’ leading rusher until being injured. He missed the rest of the season, finishing with 98 carries for 493 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“It was pretty frustrating just because I was out, and we had a great season along with a great team,” Catalon said. “I just wish I could have stuck it out the whole year to be a part of it. Of course, I was still a part of the team, but it feels a little different when you’re not out there playing.
“Aaron [Brown] stepped up and did a great job, so I was very proud of him. We’re good friends. I just rooted him on as if I was out there playing. I’m glad we didn’t miss a beat.”
Fabuluje getting advice
TCU offensive lineman Tayo Fabuluje has been working out in San Diego under the tutelage of former Dallas Cowboys offensive line coach Hudson Houck.
“He got us on the board, and he got us in our playbooks,” Fabuluje said. “He got us on film. And he told us what kind of questions teams are going to ask you and how to be ready for them. He upped our knowledge of our understanding of football.”
Fabuluje, who measured 6-6 and weighed 350, also has gotten advice from former Cowboys linebacker Victor Butler. Butler, now with the New York Giants, works out at Exos Performance Training in San Diego, where Fabuluje and several other prospects train.
“He told us the story about how when a guy goes down, the guy next is expected to know just as much, and there’s not supposed to be a drop-off between him and the guy playing in front of him,” Fabuluje said.
“You’ve got to be ready for that when that time comes, because you never know when it might come. You might be a backup and when he goes down, you’ve got to be ready. It’s very important to be in your playbook as soon as you get it and be ready to execute whatever they want you to execute when they ask you to execute it.”
Fabuluje did not bench press Thursday. He said he will wait until TCU’s Pro Day, giving him more time to prepare for the 225-pound bench after playing in two postseason bowl games.
This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Texas A&M lineman has built-in payment plan for NFL Draft."