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Erica Techo
Andrew Griffin and Allie Dunlap at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
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Robin Wilkins and Barbara Humphrey at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
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Sgt. First Class Victor Montgomery and Jay Clyce at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
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Laura Bailey, Raven Bell and Diedra Miele at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
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Bobby Humphrey speaks at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
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Bobby Humphrey speaks at the March 16 Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The NFL draft looks a little different in 2017, as compared with 1989, according to Bobby Humphrey. The former Alabama football player is going through the draft for a second time, Humphrey told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce during its March luncheon. This time, of course, is with his son, Marlon Humphrey.
Marlon Humphrey, who played at Hoover High School and followed in his dad’s footsteps to the University of Alabama, will enter the 2017 NFL draft and is currently going through the draft process.
“The process is a lot different than it was when I came along,” Humphrey said. “ … I didn’t have to go through the process they go through now.”
His son decided to leave Alabama and enter the draft, Humphrey said, and has selected his representation, gone through the NFL Scouting Combine and Pro Day, and is now in the interview process. The next step is the draft on April 27 and then, hopefully, a team press conference to follow, Humphrey said.
“Right after the draft, you’ll fly out to the team press conference, hopefully, if you’re drafted first round,” Humphrey said, “and that’s what we’re anticipating. We’re hoping and praying, anyway.”
After the press conference, Marlon Humphrey will go through rookie camp and sign a contract.
“Once he officially signs that contract, he receives a check and will have to find him a bank,” Humphrey, who is the vice president of development for Bryant Bank, said with a subtle cough. “And I know a very good one.”
The whole process is much more complex than it was when he went through the draft, Humphrey said, including the training and interview process. Marlon Humphrey did well during the NFL combine, his dad said, and is now talking with teams.
“Team interviews. Every NFL team has up to 30 interviews. They can bring in 30 different players,” Humphrey said. “So between now and April 27, he’s going to be flying in and out of town to whatever team may be interested in drafting him.”
Marlon Humphrey has already been to Philadelphia and Tennessee, Humphrey said, and “we don’t know how that list is going to grow.”
The most nerve-wracking part, he said, is the draft itself. When he was going through the draft, Humphrey said he thought he’d be drafted No. 3 to Tampa Bay or No. 10 to the Giants. Neither of those teams drafted him.
Instead, he got a call from the Denver Broncos, drafting him at No. 15.
“I had no clue of where I was going,” Humphrey said. “Many people ask, ‘Where do you think Marlon is going?’ I was like, ‘I have no clue.’ Everything can change in a draft. He’s been projected No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 10 — no one knows but that organization, and sometimes that organization can change. … But hopefully, on the 27th, we’ll be going high in the first round.”
Selfishly, Humphrey said he hopes his son is drafted by a team that’s close to Birmingham. From his son’s perspective, however, the hope is to go somewhere he wants to play and he will be able to play.
“It’s all an exciting moment, and we’re excited about it,” Humphrey said.
