Tanner Muse knew there would be questions. After all, he would be moving from safety, his primary position at Clemson, to linebacker in the NFL.
And so Muse wasn’t caught off guard when Raiders general manager Mike Mayock and coach Jon Gruden hit him with an hourlong pop quiz before the NFL draft.
The subject was run fits, or the gap assignment each player on the defensive front has in building a wall at the line of scrimmage to defend the run. For reasons ranging from what the offensive formation looks like to whether it’s a zone or man blocking scheme, it’s much more complex than simply filling gaps with bodies.
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Muse knew this was a pretty big moment.
“You might not have the same terminology as other people, teams, things like that, but you just got to know your ball,” he said.