You'll come to find that I'm a huge fan of Baylor's Spencer Drango. Not only does he have the best name in the entire draft, he allowed zero sacks and only six pressures all season. He's an offensive tackle that could really help out the Patriots.
He also seems to be a perfect fit for the New England Patriots. The 6'5 5/8, 315 lbs, 48-game starter at left tackle is a man after the heart of head coach Bill Belichick.
"I really like Nate Solder and Tyron Smith," Drango said when asked who he watches in the NFL. "They're technique oriented guys and they're both heckuva [sic] players. Their tenacity, hard work and dedication are what I aspire to."
Solder? Really? Why?
"From what I hear he's just a really hard worker," Drango explains about his interest in Patriots left tackle Nate Solder. "He goes to work and is kind of a technician guy and doesn't ever quit."
Not only was Drango a tremendously successful player on the field, but he also excelled off it. He was one of the finalists for the Campbell Trophy, or better known as the Academic Heisman. The trophy is awarded to the player that best combines on-field performance with academics and community service.
Drango achieved a 3.71 GPA in Finance and is currently on track to graduate with an MBA this spring. He's a two-time First Team All American at left tackle, and was also a Freshman All American. He also served as Vice President for Baylor's Uplifting Athletes chapter.
Possibly even more impressive is that he's overcome dyslexia to achieve all of the above.
"Having dyslexia as a kid," Drango explained at the Combine. "No one ever thought- I definitely didn't think I would be in that position [to be nominated for the Campbell Trophy]. I've been very fortunate and blessed with the people that have been in my life to help me out.
"My parents have done an amazing job raising me and they're very supportive. They got me the classes that I needed to take to be able to overcome dyslexia and once I got rolling and learned how to learn again, everything kind of clicked and it was just a bunch of hard work. It was really cool coming from that background to be in a place like that."
"I definitely would [like to work with dyslexic youth]," Drango explained. "It would be a cool opportunity. God's blessed me with this platform that I have so if I can encourage kids and other people in my situation that have similar circumstances, it's an outstanding opportunity to do so and I will."
What more do you want from a player? He's selfless, he's successful, and he wants to be like Nate Solder? Sign up Bill Belichick in the 3rd round.
---
On a side note, Drango was one of the few players that had a "crazy question" to share with the media.
"Internet history," Drango said. "Would you share your internet history with me? I said 'yeah.' I search a lot of food, directions, how to spell words because I'm dyslexic, things like that."
Wrong answer, Drango. Never turn over your internet history or phone records or whatever. They're only trying to suspend you for four games for no reason. That answer might have cost you a few draft rankings.