The interview prep started last summer. If Mike Green had NFL dreams, Charles Huff had warned his talented Marshall defensive end, he would have to answer to NFL teams. There would be questions. A lot of questions. Probing, uncomfortable questions. <\/p>\n
\u201cI told him, \u2018You\u2019re going to go in these meetings and you\u2019re going to have to explain this situation 3,000 times,\u2019\u201d recalled Huff, Green\u2018s head coach at Marshall for his two seasons at the school. \u201cI said, \u2018They\u2019re going to attempt to get all of the details out of you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As Green, the Football Bowl Subdivision\u2019s reigning sack king and one of the NFL draft\u2018s top defensive prospects, fell out of the first round last week, those details had never seemed to matter more. He had first-round talent. What troubled teams was Green\u2018s \u201csituation.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the NFL scouting combine in February, Green said he\u2019d faced one accusation of sexual assault<\/a> in high school and another from an \u201canonymous report\u201d at the University of Virginia. He said the Cavaliers suspended him in 2022, before he transferred to Marshall University ahead of the 2023 season. Green, who was never charged, denied the allegations at the combine and said he had \u201cdone nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n NFL Network reported last week that \u201cseveral\u201d teams that had interviewed Green had taken him off their draft board after finding his explanations for the accusations \u201cnot satisfactory.\u201d<\/a> The Ravens were not one of them. They drafted him late in the second round<\/a> on Friday night, No. 59 overall. Afterward, general manager Eric DeCosta said the team had looked into the allegations \u201cvery thoroughly\u201d and \u201cgot as much information as we could,\u201d relying on reports from scouts who visited Virginia and Marshall along with other sources. <\/p>\n \u201cWe understand the severity of what these allegations were, of course,\u201d said DeCosta, who told reporters that he met with Green in his office for 90 minutes during a predraft visit. \u201cBut doing our due diligence, we are comfortable with Mike. I think the best is yet to come with him, and I\u2019m glad we got him.\u201d<\/p>\n As the Ravens\u2019 rookie class converges on Owings Mills for the start of rookie minicamp on Saturday, their most polarizing draft pick has yet to speak. Green was not made available to reporters after his selection. His only public comments since the draft came in a message on X: \u201c#RavensFlock Watch what I do for y\u2019all.\u201d<\/p>\n University of Virginia representatives did not respond to a request for information on Green\u2018s time at the school. The Charlottesville Police Department declined to release a police report from the incident that led to Green\u2018s departure from Virginia.<\/p>\n A spokesman said the department was notified of an alleged sexual assault on Aug. 26, 2022, at 1 a.m. No injuries or property damage was reported. The investigation into the incident has been suspended. <\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n Green had agreed to sign a zero-tolerance policy before arriving at Virginia based on allegations made against him when he attended high school in Williamsburg, Virginia, a high school coach told The Banner. The coach did not detail the accusations against Green.<\/p>\n In interviews with three coaches who\u2019ve worked closely with Green, a more detailed, if still-incomplete, portrait of the 21-year-old edge rusher has emerged. The coaches acknowledged the seriousness of his sexual assault allegations and his need to mature in college. They said Green has reckoned with his past and developed a more professional approach to football. And they understood why he might\u2018ve fallen in the draft, even as they raved about his character. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a top-10 draft pick. There\u2019s no question,\u201d Marshall defensive line coach Ralph Street said. \u201cAnd then, on top of that, he\u2019s top one when it comes to who he is as a person. And, again, I stand on that. I spent seven years on a military base [coaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School]. I know about character. I know about integrity. That young man possesses all of it, all those traits. And I\u2019m not even talking about the football aspect.\u201d <\/p>\n Green had arrived at Marshall in search of a \u201cfresh start.\u201d He told reporters at the combine that he could have stayed at Virginia after his September 2022 suspension but that he wanted to \u201cgo somewhere that I was able to lay down a foundation.\u201d (The Athletic reported<\/a> Green was dismissed from the Virginia football team; university officials did not respond to a request for clarification.)<\/p>\n Huff, a Maryland native, said Marshall\u2018s staff \u201cdid our research\u201d before Green enrolled. Huff said he spoke with Virginia head coach Tony Elliott, who was hired in December 2021, and other Cavaliers staff members who vouched for Green. A spokesman for the team did not respond this week to a request for an interview with Elliott or a member of his staff who\u2019d coached Green.<\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey were all very complimentary of him: \u2018Hey, this is the situation. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s a bad kid. He is a good kid,\u2019\u201d Huff recalled Virginia\u2019s coaches telling him. <\/p>\n Marshall officials were also \u201ca lot more comfortable\u201d with Green\u2018s transfer, according to Huff, because he\u2019d never been charged with a crime. \u201cThere were no legal documents that said, \u2018Hey, this is exactly what happened,\u2019\u201d Huff said. <\/p>\n An earlier accusation had followed Green from high school. Lafayette High football coach Andy Linn, who\u2019s known Green since he was in the sixth grade, said a sexual assault allegation against Green late in his senior year led him to sign the zero-tolerance policy with Virginia. Linn called the accusation \u201csuch a minuscule thing.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2018s not anything that as a head football coach \u2014 and I try to deal with everything \u2014 anything I even had to deal with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Linn added: \u201cIf you want a guy who will vouch for Mike Green, I\u2019d vouch for Mike Green 10,000 times. \u2026 He\u2019s an unbelievable young man. He\u2019s just a great kid who got caught in some bad circumstances, and the second one was the worst of circumstances, because he had to sign that poor thing to go to UVA.\u201d<\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n Huff, who left Marshall in December to take the head coaching job at Southern Miss, said he had no issues with Green\u2018s conduct at the Huntington, West Virginia, school. He impressed Thundering Herd coaches with his motor in practice \u2014 one Ravens scout who attended a workout last fall was surprised to see him sprinting on and off the field all practice long \u2014 and his leadership in team meetings. <\/p>\n Huff called Green a willing mentor to teammates who \u201cgot into issues,\u201d even if they were never as serious as sexual assault allegations. <\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, young men, they do something that\u2018s embarrassing and they don\u2019t like talking about it. They don\u2019t want it brought up,\u201d Huff said. \u201cBut Mike would stand up in front of the position room or stand up in front of the team and tell them about his story and how one decision or a group of decisions could almost ruin your career.\u201d<\/p>\n Huff said Green learned to keep a smaller circle at Marshall, focusing his energy on his craft. He grew especially close with Street, his defensive line coach. During the season, the two would meet regularly at 8 a.m., Street said, honing Green\u2018s pass rush plan and picking up on opponents\u2019 tendencies while they bopped along to music from G Herbo, one of Green\u2018s favorite rappers. <\/p>\n Green entered every game last season with a move for \u201cevery down and distance,\u201d according to Street, who called Green a \u201cphenomenal talent\u201d and an \u201caccelerated learner.\u201d Street praised Green\u2018s processing as a pass rusher, his ability to pick up on cues at or after the snap and adjust his pass rush approach on the fly. Green racked up three of his FBS-high 17 sacks in games against Ohio State and Virginia Tech, but Street\u2018s favorite takedown was a late-game strip sack in a win over Sun Belt Conference power Coastal Carolina. <\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBecause we\u2019d never beaten Coastal Carolina,\u201d Street explained. Three weeks later, Green and Marshall won their first conference title since 2014 and first overall since moving to the Sun Belt.<\/p>\n Their player-coach bond extended off the field, where Street embraced Green like kin. \u201cI don\u2019t bring nobody around my family if I don\u2019t trust them, if I don\u2019t love them,\u201d Street said. During the predraft process, Street\u2018s young son wondered why Green couldn\u2019t hang out as often as he once had. Street told him he was getting ready for the NFL.<\/p>\n When the Ravens drafted Green, Street FaceTimed his son, then handed the phone to Green.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just went crazy for about five seconds,\u201d he recalled. <\/p>\n Street called Green \u201ca beautiful person\u201d who attended his daughter\u2019s gymnastics practices, played with his son and led Bible study groups on campus.<\/p>\n The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.<\/a><\/p>\n Green\u2018s former coaches were happy to see him land in Baltimore, one of the NFL\u2018s most stable and consistent franchises. But they were also a little surprised.<\/p>\n Linn, Green\u2018s high school coach, estimated that he spoke with 12 to 15 teams during the predraft process. The Ravens, he said, were not one of them. Street, who heard from \u201ceverybody\u201d before the draft, said there was no indication that the Ravens would take him, either. Huff remembered the team reaching out for information, both from his staff and around campus, but said the Ravens were more \u201cdialed in with him personally,\u201d pointing to Green\u2018s visit to Owings Mills. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure they did their work at UVA. I\u2019m sure they did their work behind the scenes,\u201d Huff said. \u201cBut they were really dialed in with him and getting to know him, which I commend them [for]. Because, when you have that type of issue that\u2018s out there, some teams didn\u2019t even take the chance to try to get to know him. \u201d<\/p>\n Green\u2018s background was a red flag elsewhere. Huff recalled scouts who visited Marshall telling him that their front office \u201cdoesn\u2019t want to go down that road.\u201d Three years ago, even Ravens coach John Harbaugh had pointed to the team\u2018s own policy of \u201ckind of zero tolerance.\u201d In the wake of an NFL investigation into allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior<\/a> against kicker Justin Tucker, the team has said the policy was never formalized<\/a>.<\/p>\n Huff said he expected a \u201cbacklash\u201d against Green during the draft and perhaps even after it. While some teams might be willing to overlook one sexual assault allegation, he told Green, others would have a harder time with two.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2018s just where we are in society,\u201d Huff said. \u201cHe had a major situation that came up twice. Right, wrong or indifferent, it happened. So that\u2018s going to be something that a lot of people and organizations are going to be very cautious of.\u201d<\/p>\n Linn said most 17- and 18-year-olds who leave for college are still \u201cimmature kids.\u201d At Virginia, according to Linn, Green underwent a \u201cslow progression of maturity.\u201d At Marshall, facing an inflection point in his career, Green \u201cchanged whatever he needed to change,\u201d Linn said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re blessed that he was in this situation, that he still earned the right to be drafted,\u201d Street said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re also blessed that now the world will get to know him for who he really is, and not one what somebody else [was] whispering about, texting about, tweeting about. They will get to actually know this young man for who he is. And then as you get to know him, then, if you want to judge him, then you judge him. <\/p>\n \u201cBut if you don\u2019t know him \u2014 and I don\u2019t know why we have, in this society now today, you can go through the legal process, but people still will prosecute you off word of mouth or social media. It baffles me at times. But I\u2019m just just so happy that, again, the world will get to know \u2018Big Mike\u2019 for who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Baltimore Banner reporter Brenda Wintrode contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The interview prep started last summer. 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