ANN ARBOR - Wednesday afternoon, Elliott Mealer posted on his Twitter account that with today's pro day at Michigan, he was going to do something drastic.
The Beard comes off tomorrow as well!
— Elliott Mealer (@el_mealer) March 13, 2013
As of this afternoon, Mealer still had the mane. And he bore a striking resemblance to another figure inside of Schembechler Hall, which is in the process of being stripped down and gutted as part of a renovation.
(that's the Paul Bunyan trophy in the background, in case you didn't notice.)
Mealer was one of 12 Wolverines to go through today's pro day at Michigan, and he trained with former Michigan strength coach Mike Barwis in preparation for today's testing in front of NFL personnel.
"I was a little bit nervous but my confidence kind of took over for me," Mealer said. "I was prepared, I felt good. I woke up this morning, ate breakfast, came up here, and it was kind of hard to sleep. I got up here and we didn't really have meetings, as much. Some of the guys took the Wonderlic, and I'd already taken that, so I just came out and almost got into a game mode. I tried to treat it like a game."
Mealer worked out Thursday despite recently tweaking a hamstring, which he said may have hampered his output in the 40-yard dash.
"There's some nerves because this is the first time for any of us seniors to go through something like this on your own," Mealer said. "Since the fifth grade, you've been a part of a team and now, it's all about you and how you perform."
Still, he hopes his versatility on the offensive line will help his prospects of a pro career - Mealer played at right guard in 2011, then at left guard during last spring's practices and through training camp until he was moved to center for the 2012 season.
"In the NFL, numbers are really tight," Mealer said. "You want somebody that can bounce anywhere at the line. I've done that my whole career. There are other guys out there that haven't and maybe they say they can do it, but I've proven I can do it."
As for the beard?
Former Michigan scribe Jeff Arnold suggested that Mealer donate it to Locks of Love; I suggested a charitable effort, akin to what Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel has done for the past three years - shaving his epic beard each year for different causes.
"It gets more love than I do!" Mealer said.
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