GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If B.J. Coleman winds up becoming a viable quarterback prospect in Green Bay, the Packers just might owe some thanks to the former player who helped the small-school product prepare for life in the NFL.
You guessed it: Brett Favre.
The Packers took Coleman with one of two seventh-round compensatory picks toward the end of the NFL draft Saturday. Coleman, who played three seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga after transferring from Tennessee, is expected to compete for a spot as the No. 3 quarterback in Green Bay.
In preparation for the draft, Coleman said he spent part of January and February working out with Favre in Hattiesburg, Miss. They both share an agent, Bus Cook.
In a teleconference with reporters who cover the Packers, Coleman called Favre an "awesome legend" -- seeming blissfully unaware of the quarterback's falling out with Green Bay's front office in the summer of 2008, which led to one of the most tumultuous periods in the team's history.
Coleman said he learned a lot from Favre, from deciphering coverages to footwork.
"It's just endless," Coleman said. "He's one of the best. He'll go down as one of the greatest. To have the opportunity to speak with him and work with him was excellent."
And Coleman hopes to continue consulting Favre, although it wasn't clear if he had yet run that idea past the Packers' coaching staff.
"I'd like to have a great relationship with him," Coleman said. "We'll see. With Bus being both of our agents, yeah, absolutely. I know they'll be many questions and things I got to ask. But having a guy there like Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre, those are two phenomenal guys to ask."
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
