Greg Paulus Is Getting NFL Looks
Over his four years at Duke, Greg Paulus proved one thing: he really isn’t that good at basketball. But the former Gatorade Football Player of the Year in New York hasn’t proved that he can’t play on the gridiron just yet. His opportunity to do so came recently with the Green Bay Packers, who worked out the former QB.
If there was anyone in college basketball who could actually make a seamless transition to pro football, it would be Blake Griffin. Imagine slotting that guy at tight end or defensive end. He’s one of the most explosive athletes in the country, regardless of sport, he has tremendous hands, and a real mean streak.
The truth is, Paulus was an animal in high school, earning scholarship offers from Miami and Notre Dame after a career highlighted by six New York state passing records, including career passing yards (11,763).
He threw 152 touchdown passes in 45 career games, leading his high school to a 42-3 record with him under center. Paulus was the starting quarterback in the U.S. Army All-American game, also garnering All-American football honors from Parade Magazine.
Charlie Ward famously went the opposite way, opting to take his 6-2, 190 lbs. frame away from the gridiron and on to the NBA even though his best season at FSU was a 10.5-point, 4.9-assist campaign.
If Paulus makes it onto an NFL practice roster, imagine the heat that he’ll get for what Danny Green and Deron Washington did to him.
Source: Pro Football Talk
Photo Courtesy: Tar Heel Fan
April 14th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Ice Cold says:
He stinks at life. I hope he makes the preseason roster and in his first game an angry 300lb DT flattens him.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:16 am
d says:
I love the photo. Hilarious. I mean, was dude really that good of a decision maker at the PG (which can obviously be likened to a QB). Doesn’t Green Bay realize the difference from being good in high school vs. being good in the pros? Whatever, I don’t see him getting picked up.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:18 am
confused says:
isnt that good at basketball? wasn’t he second team all ACC one season? what were you?
April 14th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Glenn says:
At least if a 300 pound lineman coming at him, teams can nearly guarantee that Paulus will “flop” down and avoid the sack. GM’s gotta be excited about that.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Glenn says:
d, Sam Cassell proved you don’t need any PT in college to be a successful NFL QB, haha.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
... says:
I hope things go well for him. Dude wanted to play basketball and be a part of a great program and play for a great coach. Wasn’t really THAT good, but I’m sure he knew that. He had a lotta heart. Not sure if he’s a good enough athlete to be a pro football player though. That’d be a big jump.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Never a fan of him or anything Duke. Not playing football for four years and then trying to go pro is nearly impossible. Antonio Gates is the only person I think of who has accomplished that goal successfully.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Big Freeze says:
Greg Paulus as an NFL quaterback? HA ha ha ha ha ha ha! What a fuckin joke!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Michorizo says:
White quarterbacks are so overrated…
April 14th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@ 9
yeah cause Joe Montana, John Elway and Tom Brady are over rated…GTFOH
April 14th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
bliz289 says:
@ Ice Cold
“he stinks at life”…LMAO!
April 14th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
lifep says:
@ everyone including DIME
SOO MANY HATERS ON DIME!!!
Most EXTREME haters are haters because they…
1) had the goods (skills), but lost them!
2) never had the goods and as a result are bitter and angry
3) had a measure of the goods, but someone else’s goods outshined theirs..
Either way, your HATE is essentially jealously. You are jealous over a dude’s skills. In the case of Paulus, perhaps,
…you wanted to go to Duke, but did’nt qualifiy
…maybe Paulus stole your girl in highschool
…maybe Duke beat your team dad’s team 40 years ago
…maybe you’re jealous over his skill level
…maybe you WRITE (DIME) about basketball because you were never good enough to make the team so you DEBO everyone who’s attempting to succeed!
…maybe you opportunities given to Paulus that you wished could happen to you!
…maybe you were hurt and lost your athleticsm and ended your sports career.
…maybe your family situation didn’t permit you to play.
Hating on someone will not change ANYTHING! It won’t make you feel better about yourself. However, it will KEEP YOU IN CONSTANT REMINDER of your status as an enternal FAN. One who by force or choice did not make it as an athlete!
This isn’t just about Paulus but every athlete you HATE ON for doing something they loved doing since childhood (just like you did) and were extended opportunites to do beyond elementary and middle school leagues.
I understand everyone has their opinions! That’s cool! Just don’t get caught up in the hype. Those dudes you hate on are going for their dreams…don’t waste this short time we have on earth hating on people. Take a page out of the book of the person you’re hating on and strive for your dreams too!
April 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
shake&bake says:
Blake Griffin got a concussion from getting slapped in the face. What would happen on the football field?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Taj says:
Thats a Duuuuurrtty Pic!!!!! Seems like there’s been a few guys give Paulus the “Lipton Special”.
As for Paulus I dont think he’s that bad of a PG.. Not a great “Basketball player” though. To be HS POY in football and be the starting PG at Duke is no small feat.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Steve A says:
Say what you want about Paulus, but the guy tried hard and got what he could out of his basketball talent. Good luck to him.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Yoooo says:
On a COMPLETELY different note… Christian semi-embarrassed himself on national TV. I say semi because Brooke is bad, and so I can understand the temporary lapse in manhood… But it’s national TV son, get ur scruples about you!
April 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Lifep sounds like his talking from experience?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Celts Fan says:
@shake - he’d be wearing a helmet so he’d be cool from concussions… but still get his leg snapped in half
April 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
TJ says:
Blake Griffin would be terrible at football. What 6′10″ tight end or defensive end have you ever heard about? It’s al about center of gravity, which is why the Maurice Jones-Drews of the world excel.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
POPPI GEE says:
ill pic lol
April 14th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Matt Paulus says:
I think Greg was a great player at Duke, and has the potential to be a fantastic starting quarterback in the NFL. What have the rest of you done?
April 14th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Big Island says:
If Green Bay called anyone on here for a tryout we would go…
Griffin could play for the Panthers and get juiced up like Julius Peppers. Last I heard, he was a pretty decent lineman. Anyone that big and athletic could go to football. All anyone ever talks about Iverson is about how good he was at football and he even did a couple of promo things with the Eagles when he was in Philly where the receivers said he could play. I’m not saying that Paulus will play, but he has a shot. I won’t go into it as far as lifep did, but it is easy to hate Duke, and you don’t go to Duke if you suck. There are a ton of guys who go from college basketball to football, or football to baseball, or beasketball to baseball (Tony Gwynn had hoops skills). There is a reason that the football coaches show up at the basketball practices. If I had a penny for every time I had a football coach come to practices or class to get us to come play I could probably get something off of the value menu at Taco Bell.
If it weren’t linebacker coaches trying to get me to play tight end, maybe I woulda tried it. They probably wanted someone to just light up to boost their confidence…
April 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
everybodyisslow says:
Is everybody still going to act like coach K is a good coach lol… he ruins players, with his no D shoot 3’s style of play.. Lets go threw the list of Duke scrubs, jay williams, langdon, reddick, william avery, danny ferry, let me just stop i dont have enuff time to finish the list. bottum line paulis is what he is… A srcub..
April 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Dukesman2000 says:
Do you know what I hate? Is when people always try to diminish the level athleticism it takes to play football. I hear all kinds of chatter about basketball players and how great they’d be playing football. Look, Lebron James, Blake Griffin et al could play football, I am not arguing that. But why do you think either of them would be any good at it? Their size? Its football people, size might scare people in the NCAA and the NBA but it doesn’t scare anyone in the NFL. Speed? Everyone has speed in the NFL. O-Lineman at 350 pounds can run a 4:80.
Stop with all the crazy talk please.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
lifep says:
@Big Shot BOB says:
Yes sir…experience AND wisdom.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
K Dizzle says:
Coach K did ok with the egos over the summer,…just sayin. And i ain’t a duke fan, but puttin Jay Will on a list of scrubs is wrong. Dude was comin on before the injury and I don’t care who your coach is, if you got no post players in the ACC, you ain’t winnin shit.
Last I heard, Julius Peppers played football in college and was a NCAA all-american so that’s an insult comparing Blake to him or Tony Gonzales. Gates is just a freak…
In closin, Paulus gotta be the only high school all-american who lost his starting spot in his SENIOR year at a major school cuz his game just stalled. Good luck in the CFL tho
April 14th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
... says:
@ everybodyisslow… You just might be the dumbest person on the planet. Lost ALL credibility with that last comment. Somtimes people shouldnt talk.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
DurrtyInjun says:
I HATE Duke with a passion, but I have to say that myth of Duke players sucking outside college should be debunked at least in today’s game. First of all, Jay Williams shouldn’t be considered either way cuz he never got a chance to show what he had. After that you still got, Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng. You even have Chris Duhon and Dahntay Jones starting to do work.
And for the comment on “Haters’”, just calm down, cuz hating is a part of sports, even for those that make a living off it. While I ain’t down on hating someone who got hurt (or old) and can’t get back to where they once were, hating on schools is a big part of what college sports are, and hating on someone for not realizing their potential or for thinking they are better then they really are is more than justifiable (and not a waste of time, cuz its just one of the things that help make following sports a little more interesting)
April 14th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Franchise Baller says:
lmfao at shake and bake
April 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
sunflower_27828 says:
My question is WHY is it necessary to attack Greg Paulus before his NFL tryout? None of us have any idea what will happen there. I personally would love to see him make it just so the basketball sharks could move on to a new feeding frenzy. Everyone recognizes that Greg did not have the skills or talent of a Ty Lawson, but are we suggesting Greg shouldn’t play because he didn’t. Greg Paulus was a student-athlete at Duke. He’s getting a degree from ONE of the most prestigious universities in our country, and he gets to play a game he loves. Only a few players have an elite game that can transfer to the NBA, so that so-called scrub list is a JOKE!!!! Those so-called scrubs have a take home salary most of us would kill for. I watched Greg play at Duke for 4 years, and I have NO DOUBTS that he will continue to succeed in life. He’s been a successful High School and college student-athlete and he is now being given an opportunity to tryout for a professional team. That kid has the kind of drive and intensity that will take him to the highest heights that life can offer. Go Greg!!!!!!!!!
April 14th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
lifep says:
@ DurrtyInjun
I feel you but I don’t agree with you assertion. There’s a difference betweeen “HATING”,”Passionately loyal” and “Criticizing/Sports Commentating”
I live in NORTH CAROLINA..10 mins from DUKE..15 mins from UNC and about an hour from WAKE FOREST…I know passionate fans, but the level is crossed when you wish hurt, harm or danger on any athlete. There’s something disturbed about an individual who wishes someone would be hurt because they don’t like them. That’s beyond being passionate..that’s psychopathic.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
rudderband man says:
I’d take DeJuan Blair on my NFL team over Blake Griffin any day of the week!
April 14th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@lifep
Hating on haters is still hating.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
lifep says:
@ Spliff 2 My Lou
Touche!
But I’m not hating, just explaining! I don’t wish ill will to any of the haters…feel me.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
I feel you lifep. We all haters at some point. I hate Duke and Dukies. I think it’s good as a fan to have teams you just can’t stand and always root against. Duke just happens to be that team for me in college basketball. I do have mad respect for Coach K though.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Bron42 aka Had springs before slamball says:
@lifep, awww that is sooo disney. Thanks for the pep talk
@sunflower_27828, who is lettin gregs mom post suddenly
@DurrtyInjun, I’m actually cool with Jay and even after the injuy to this day he can still ball so i won’t trash him but the rest of the guys u named are a bunch of guys who never reached their potential and have seem overrated their whole nba career. Only reason duhon and jones are “coming on” is cuz their role players now.
I do agree, people need to quit wit all this “lebron would be great at football” “blake would be great at football” just cuz their big athletes. ANY DB or CB would lace some 6′8+ guy comin across the middle which is why every nfl team isn’t drafting 6′9 guys. At that height not only areyou a HUGE easy target, but your center of gravity is gonna be off compared to the smaller guys who are goin right at ya stomach. And juluis peppers is only like 6′6 and played football in college with basketball only bein his fallback. Jus cuz your big don’t mean you got NFL level skill. Hell theres TONS of big guys in college who don’t cut it in the pros and they actually played college football. Look at jokes like brock lesnar. Yet our tellin me blake griffin would just walk over there and mash people? “that big and athletic could go to football” thats just crazy talk.
And if anyone remembers all the hype paulus used to get early on (before people realized he couldn’t cut it) he def wasn’t anything aboev average at basketall. He had heart but heart alone don’t keep you running things at duke.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
rudderband man says:
… but if you HAD to pick one guy… DeJuan Blair, right? Dude is a MONSTER!
April 14th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Jason says:
Wow Dime another article bashing Duke. I bet Katz wrote this article. I may get bashed for saying this but i really used to respect DIME. It was a great basketball site and mag. But to say Paulus clearly showed he couldn’t play basketball? The guy started for an ACC championship team and was a 3 year starter on a top 10 ranked team each year. Yeah Duke didn’t win it all but starting on a top 10 team is something I guarantee no “expert” from Dime has ever done so I doubt your opinion carried much weight. I played ball my whole life and on a college level but I guarantee Paulus would murder anyone on here joking him including whoever wrote this on the court and the football field. Sorry i just hate haters that do nothing but hate for no apparent reason.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@Jason
Once again, hating haters is still hating. With or without a reason.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@Jason
Just a few more things.
1. I doubt anybody who comments on Dime and even the Dime writers would classify themselves as “experts”.
2. Saying that Paulus would murder anybody here at basketball and football is impossible to know and a completely idiotic statement. We have no idea of knowing who the commenters are behind the monikers. They may be actual NBA or NFL players themselves, who knows.
I wouldn’t hesitate to put c-note on doc to beat Paulus on a game of one-on-one.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
AY says:
is there some rule that says duke’s football program would have to fold if their basketball team got a better football player than their football team? This is not like charlie ward, ward played basketball as well as football in college; paulus only played basketball at duke. The guy is already in your school, you can’t even get him to come out and play one year with your football team?
I don’t think he has to be a QB in nfl, he can make it on the special teams.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
frederick ruger says:
when i heard about him as a freshman, i knew it sounded like a bad idea for him to choose basketball. he’s probably the next drew henson.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Peyton says:
I hope he does it. He was a good catalyst for a Duke team that had several march runs. I believe that he dident get to live up to his full potential because of injuries. Now he was a highly recruited basketball and football player and I find it hard to believe that he stoped throwing a football around and him being the point guard gives him a good sense Of what’s going on and could have helped him out. Now missing 4 years of college ball and then tryin to go back to football and jumping to the pros is unlikely but not impossible if he can show that he hasn’t lost his arm or field awarness.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Austin Burton says:
Semi-related note: David Noel (UNC) was a star receiver in high school and decided to walk-on at North Carolina for basketball rather than take a football scholarship. Some NFL teams were looking at him when he left college, but he stuck with basketball and is in the D-League. QB is a whole different animal, though; four years of not reading defenses and facing blitzes, then going from high school hits to NFL hits, I’d think is too much to overcome.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
robmo35 says:
I’m a Carolina guy and generally hate all things Duke, but you can’t blame the guy for trying, maybe you can blame the Packers for looking, but you can’t blame Paulus for trying. Incidentally, he was highly recruited by both Duke and UNC, and chose Duke because he thought he would have a better chance of playing both football and basketball in Durham
April 14th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
sunflower_27828 says:
OK Bron42, I like that mom’s comment, that was a good one. While I’m NOT Greg’s mom, I would love one day to have a kid like that. That being said, I stand by my comments. You shouldn’t trash a kid for things he has NO control over. Kenny Smith said tonight on “The Beat”…”Point guards are BORN, not made.” Greg Paulus was not born with the athletic ability of Ty Lawson. (Yes, I’m using Ty Lawson to represent PG greatness). If Greg stayed in the gym 24-7, he would never be Ty Lawson. But, he didn’t let that stop him. The young man lost his starting job, but he didn’t get mad, transfer, or become a malcontent. According to all reports, he stayed positive and helped the younger and more athletic players who replaced him. NO, he wasn’t the second coming of Bobby Hurley, but he was a good basketball player. Unfortunately, in the ACC, good isn’t enough and he lost his starting job. But, that is NO reason to tear Greg Paulus down. If we want to vilify a player, how about Kirk Synder. He is breaking into homes. But, don’t destroy a young man whose only crime is not being born with the talent necessary to be an All- Star guard. I’d rather have a mindless debate over the Duke players in the NBA than to have this discussion about a good kid getting a NFL tryout.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Markito says:
Can face the possibility that Paulus lost his job as starting PG coz he was getting abused defensively? The picture above says it all. I mean he was trying to play hard but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. All the top athletic PGs wanted to face him. If you were Coach K who likes man-to-man D, you’d adjust and that’s what happened.
Still don’t agree bashing a guy for trying out another opportunity coming his way.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Big Island says:
ESPN said that Paulus talked with Coach Rodriguez about playing at Michigan next year. Is that even allowed? WTF.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
d says:
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9457458/Sources:-Paulus-may-play-football-at-Michigan
guess he has a year of eligibility. I hate duke, I hate Paulus, but more power to the dude. If he can actually be legit I give it up for the dude.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Bron42 aka In livin color says:
@jason, I for one would trash paulus in basketball and anything football related outside of QB accuracy drills.so lie someone said, its a dumb cooment to make if you dont now who your making it to.
@sunflower_27828 , although i’d love to hate on your comment, i guess i really can’t. but it is kinda creepy to say ” I wish I had a kid like that” as if he cured polio or something lol but I get your idea
April 17th, 2009 at 5:26 am
nicky says:
gotta love the photo of Danny Green putting his nuts on Paulus’ forehead