Pittsburgh tackle T.J. Clemmings started his college career as a coveted defensive end prospect, but blossomed in his last two years along the offensive line.
T.J. Clemmings is a football player. To him, it does not matter where he plays, as long as it's somewhere on the gridiron.
Here's a gallery from the offensive line workouts that took place at the 2015 NFL Combine.
Clemmings was a top prospect at defensive end when he was scouted by Pittsburgh. Then, he made the switch to the offensive line for his last two seasons in college.
"When [head coach] Paul Chryst asked me for the first time, I didn't resist it at all," Clemmings said. "I said, 'OK, coach.'"
Clemmings said the move simply "felt right," but didn't come without a learning curve. Mastering the techniques, terminology and plays were difficult at first, he said.
In mid-February at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, the 6-foot-4, 307 pounder told reporters he is prepared to work both sides of the line at right or left tackle. During the interview process with teams, he was asked if he was willing to play both sides and his response to playing on the left side of the ball.
"Whatever the team wants me to do, I will be prepared," Clemmings said. "If I didn't switch over to offensive line, that might have been it for me as far as playing football in college. I definitely wanted to play again. It was a no-brainer."
Instead of a potentially limited college career on defense, Clemmings was selected first team All-ACC and was a three-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week in 2014.
At the combine, Clemmings' vertical jump was 32.5 inches, which ranked second among all offensive linemen.
So while some critics may say Clemmings' inexperience along the offensive line could be a problem as he heads into the draft, the former Panther said he won't worry about things not under his control.
"I only had two years on the offensive line under my belt and that's not going to change from now to the draft," Clemmings said. "I need some work on some things and I am not afraid of that. I am ready to work on things that people feel I need to work on."
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