MECHANICSVILLE, Va. -- The first time Mo Alie-Cox got into a football three point stance, he put the wrong hand down.
Understandable, given that the former A-10 all defensive team standout hasn't played organized football since the 9th grade. But Alie-Cox is a quick study, and impressed the scouts from 30 NFL teams that came to Sports Reality in Mechanicsville to watch Mo's football workout, performed after just 7 days of training in Florida.
"Most of the things we did here (at the workout), we did down where I was training" Alie-Cox said. "The blocking drills were new but catching the ball didn't feel weird at all."
"Everything just felt natural."
Only the Cowboys and Bengals did not have a representative at the workout which lasted roughly 90 minutes and included measurements and all the drills associated with a normal pro day for college football players. The University of Richmond recently held their football pro day in the same facility.
Alie-Cox ran the 40 yard dash in 4.75 seconds at 262 pounds, impressive when you consider that before Tuesday, he had run the 40 exactly twice before in his life. While none of the scouts commented publicly, more than a few came away happy with what they saw.
"This is not a novelty" said Mo's agent, Joe Flanagan of BTI Sports. "Mo is a very special athlete. I had more than one scout turn around to me today and say 'You've got something special'. He possesses a lot of traits that you just can't teach."
"With time, he's going to be a special football player."
While Alie-Cox has not played organized football since the 9th grade, he has been an avid fan even while being a collegiate basketball standout. "I watch football every Sunday during the season" Alie-Cox said. "That's pretty much all I did on Sundays was watch the NFL"
While his brother was a die-hard Redskins fan, Mo's allegiance shifted to the Eagles. "Whenever they played each other, we were always going at it!"
Alie-Cox will spend the next few weeks making in-depth visits with several NFL teams. "I just want to put myself in a situation where I have a great opportunity to learn" he said. "There's going to be a huge learning curve. We haven't thought about contracts or anything else."
While the scouts didn't share their evaluations, Mo thinks he did exactly what he needed to do.
"I just stayed true to myself and just did what I know I'm capable of doing. I think I did well."
