The FCS has continuously churned out high-quality offensive linemen in recent years. From Cody Mauch to Dillon Radunz and Cordell Volson, the Football Championship Subdivision has been a conference where the big boys have thrived. Next in line is South Dakota State offensive tackle Garret Greenfield, an impressive top-100 worthy prospect who's fresh off a standout showing at this year's East-West Shrine Bowl.
Greenfield recently spoke exclusively with The Draft Network about his 2024 NFL Draft prospects. Greenfield discussed his East-West Shrine experience, playing both left and right tackle, which teams have shown interest in his NFL services, and more.
JM: You recently participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl and were one of the best participating players. What do you think you proved to NFL scouts and decision-makers in attendance?
Garret Greenfield: I was pretty happy with the week I had. It was a lot of fun. I got a lot of great coaching and met a lot of wonderful people. I got to play with a few of my teammates one last time. It was a great week.
I wanted to leave a positive mark going into that week. I wanted to show the scouts what I’m made of while proving I can compete with Power 5 competition. There were a lot of great FBS players in attendance. Players have to deal with those questions coming out of the FCS every single year. That’s the number one question, what can you do against better competition?
Football is football. That’s what I wanted to prove at the East-West Shrine Bowl. As long as you stick to your technique and have the right mindset going into it, you’re going to be okay at the end of the day.
JM: It sounds like you entered the week with a chip on your shoulder. Like yeah, FCS guys can play at this level, too.
Garret Greenfield: Yeah, that’s exactly what it was. Like I said, there’s a handful of really good FCS prospects in the draft every single year and the question is always the same. Can we handle a step up in competition?
The Missouri Valley Conference is loaded with draftable prospects every single year. I don’t think it’s true at all that we don’t play against high-level competition. Especially in the Missouri Valley, the talent level in that conference is exceptional.
I definitely went into the week with a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to represent South Dakota State and FCS football in general.
JM: It’s non-debatable. Look at guys like Cody Mauch and Cordell Volson who are experiencing instant success at the NFL level. What do you think it is about that Missouri Valley conference that’s allowed so many offensive line prospects to develop at a nice pace in recent years?
Garret Greenfield: I think how we grow up in the Midwest makes a difference. All of those guys you just mentioned, and you can include Trevor Penning and Spencer Brown, are Midwest kids. We grow up a little underrated.
We know how to work hard and we know what it takes to be successful. We come ready to work every single day. I love getting after it. We do the same thing day after day after day. That’s just how we’re raised in the Midwest. That’s the culture we’re brought up in, one with a hard-working mentality.
It doesn’t matter how you feel about it. You just keep your head down and work hard. We’ve been underdogs our entire lives. We’re small-town kids who don’t get a lot of FBS offers out of high school. We just make the most of our opportunities.
JM: I’m going to ask you a question, but I’m going to finish it with a statement. What did you learn from playing with Tucker Kraft, who became the first top-100 pick from the program since Dallas Goedert in 2018? I like your chances of making it back-to-back drafts with top-100 picks for the first time in program history.
Garret Greenfield: That would be awesome, but I have a long way to go before achieving something like that. There’s a lot of work that has to be put in.
About Tucker Kraft, I learned a lot of the same stuff I just talked about. He’s from Timber Lake, South Dakota. That’s a town of like 900 people. He has that chip on his shoulder. You saw it every single day with him. He’s gonna come ready to work.
No matter what he did the day before, he’s always out to prove something. I think that’s a great mentality to have. He tries to prove himself all over again when the next day starts. He doesn’t care about the past. That has no indication on what’s going to happen in the future.
You have to stay prepared by showing up every day ready to work. He wants to prove himself again and again. That’s a great mindset to have. You can look at what he did this year. He maximized his opportunity when his number got called.
Tucker Kraft had a really good rookie season. I was happy to see that for him. I know it didn’t happen by accident.
JM: I bet there’s a lot of interest in you. Which NFL teams did you meet with extensively at the Shrine Bowl?
Garret Greenfield: It was like a speed dating routine (laughs). I spoke with almost every single team the way the Shrine Bowl had the meeting rooms set up. I think I had a lot of great interviews.
I’d say I spent an extended amount of time with the Raiders, Titans, Chiefs, Dolphins, Bills, and the Vikings. Those teams stood out to me.
JM: You played both left and right tackle throughout your time at SDSU. You moved around as necessary. What was the biggest difference between the two, and which are you more comfortable playing moving forward?
Garret Greenfield: Looking back at that 2022 season, switching over to the left side was a bit more of an adjustment than I had originally anticipated. It took me a lot longer to get comfortable and to really feel confident again. It was a longer process than I thought it’d be.
The biggest difference isn’t the play calls or anything like that. The mental side of it, I’ve always been very familiar with our offense. At that point, I had taken every snap at right tackle for three or four straight years.
It was ingrained in me. It’s such a technical position, especially when you’ve done something so many times. That’s what it takes to be a successful offensive lineman. You want it to feel like it’s second nature, like it's effortless.
When I switched positions, you have to flip everything around. It takes a lot of reps to get comfortable again. The more reps I got, the better I felt. You have to think about things a little bit more. You have to put forth a little more effort into your technique because it wasn’t as comfortable as right tackle was. That takes time.
I’m very thankful that I made that transition. It made me a more well-rounded offensive lineman that can move around as needed. As far as whichever one I’m most comfortable playing, it’s probably a cheesy answer, but I now feel like I can play both spots.
I started for two years on the right and now I’ve started for two years on the left. I now have about the same amount of time spent at each spot. They both feel pretty natural to me as of now. I just needed the reps on the left.
JM: That makes total sense. From a physical skill-set standpoint, how would you write your own scouting report?
Garret Greenfield: I’m a smooth mover. I operate fluidly in space and I have great body control. I’m typically in a great spot and never allow myself to get far out of place or position. That helps me maneuver from play to play.
JM: You love that wide-zone offense, don’t you?
Garret Greenfield: I do, yeah (laughs). It obviously worked out pretty well for us at South Dakota State. We had a really talented backfield. That never hurts when running that system. That wide-zone scheme, I love it. It’s a lot of fun to run.
JM: We’ve appreciated your time today. What kind of person and player is a team getting when they select Garret Greenfield in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Garret Greenfield: They’re going to get someone who’s going to come in every day ready to work hard. I’m ready to be coached at the highest level, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to help the team win. I’m going to be a great teammate on top of that.
You can count on me in the locker room. I’m going to be dependable every single day and I’ll never be a distraction. I can’t wait to be a great teammate that’s ready to work. I love to compete. At the end of the day, we’re there to win games.
