Bills offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris couldn't resist. Not long after Buffalo made offensive tackle Cordy Glenn the 41st pick in the draft in round two last weekend, the veteran assistant popped his head into the Bills draft room. Standing there with a big grin on his face he said to those in the room, "I just want to congratulate everyone on the last pick. Excellent selection."
"It's always good to get a good player and all the players we selected were good, but we targeted Cordy and I watched a lot of tape on him and we reviewed him and went back and analyzed him again and then went and analyzed him some more," said D'Alessandris. "To see us get that kind of caliber player at that time I was excited because I know he's going to make our offensive line better."
Literally applauding the pick D'Alessandris was behaving much like he does on the field offering enthusiasm and encouragement to his players in practice with a healthy dose of hard coaching to match. Buffalo's line coach liked the pick not just for the level of talent Glenn will provide to the team's offensive front, but for the person he had come to know through the pre-draft process.
"Cordy is a class young man," D'Alessandris said. "I knew about him when I was at Georgia Tech. With him being recruited at Georgia I somewhat followed his career and he was a very good football player in high school. Then when I met him at the Combine I had a nice visit with him there individually. Then we had a formal interview in the interview room there in Indy. Then I watched him at the combine and continued to watch tape on him. He's a smart young man and very talented and we're excited about that."
Glenn also came to One Bills Drive on a pre-draft visit and that's where the big offensive tackle was sold on the team even though he had no choice as to where he would end up come draft weekend.
"I am happy," he said. "One, I get to play left tackle and two, Buffalo is one of my favorite teams. I am just happy I get to play football. I know where I am playing at now. It is a big relief."
What sold Glenn was Buffalo's coaching staff, D'Alessandris in particular.
"I like the offensive line coach," he said. "I like the way he coaches, so (Buffalo) was definitely a big favorite of mine."
"When he came here for his visit things worked out great," said D'Alessandris. "When I interview these guys it's important for me to know as much as I can because I only get them for a short time. The main thing is when they walk out of here I want to know if they can learn or at least what the learning curve is going to be. I think we just meshed real well with communication and trying to help him learn what we're trying to do here."
Glenn took very well to hard coaching at Georgia, and he'll get a lot of the same under D'Alessandris knowing the expectations are for the hulking pass protector to challenge for a starting role.
"Georgia has a very successful program and I know several of the line coaches they've had there and some of their other coaches," said D'Alessandris. "They're good teachers and they coach and they demand, and I don't think anything will be different when he gets here."
The bottom line is Glenn and D'Alessandris look like a fit. The Bills second-round pick is a motivated student and his position coach is a dedicated tutor.
"He's got very quick feet for a big man. He stays upright and on his feet and has good change of direction and balance. He plays the game hard," D'Alessandris said. "Now he has to come in and learn a new system and new communication. He'll have to go through a learning curve, but I think he's the type of young man that's ready to do whatever he was asked. He did that at Georgia. I think he's always had an open mind to do different things and I see him doing that here."
