Lions' Graham Glasgow excited to reunite with UM teammate Jake Rudock – Detroit Free Press
Third-round pick says it’s nice to have familiarity with a new time, ready to compete for starting center spot
Graham Glasgow stopped following the NFL draft not long after the Detroit Lions took him at the end of the third round.
So when the former Michigan center got a text from his old teammate, Jake Rudock, a day later saying the two were about to be reunited again, Glasgow thought it was a joke.
“I wasn’t watching the draft,” Glasgow told reporters on Thursday. “He texted me, and I didn’t believe him so I had to go check online. I had to just see a draft thing and I was like, ‘Wow, it actually did happen.’”
The Lions made Rudock their first of three sixth-round picks, and the former Michigan quarterback has spent the past week practicing with his old center in Allen Park.
Last year, Glasgow and Rudock helped Michigan to a 10-3 record and Citrus Bowl win. Now, Glasgow said they’re learning the ropes together in the NFL.
“I was excited (he ended up in Detroit),” Glasgow said. “It kind of takes one more variable out of the equation for me of playing center-guard, just knowing his cadence. It’s just nice having a familiar person like that here.”
While Rudock is ticketed for backup duty behind Matthew Stafford or a spot on the Lions’ practice squad, Glasgow will have an opportunity to compete for playing time at center with Travis Swanson.
Swanson underwent shoulder surgery this off-season after an up-and-down first year as a starter. Glasgow has the size the Lions covet at the center position, though he made no predictions about his future on Thursday.
“My expectation for the season is to essentially be the best player that I can be, improve and really just push Travis and I guess we’ll see what happens on opening day,” he said.
Contact Dave Birkett: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
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