GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - If B.J. Coleman winds up becoming a viable quarterback prospect in Green Bay, the Packers just might owe some thanks to the ex-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 on 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. Coleman and Favre share an agent, Bus Cook.
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 whether he had yet to 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."
Speaking to reporters before Coleman's conference call, Packers coach Mike McCarthy noted Coleman's enthusiasm.
"He was clearly the most excited young man on the phone, of the eight, and he told me it's the best pick we've ever made in Green Bay," McCarthy said. "And I told him we've had some pretty good quarterbacks here. But he's excited."
Coleman chalked his potential exaggeration up to getting caught up in the moment.
"I think that came out, just a little bit of excitement," Coleman said. "With the great players there, just to be a part of something so great and put on that green and gold, it's going to be like a dream came true."
