What Nick Muse credits to raising his draft stock from a year ago
The 2022 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night in Las Vegas. One of the hundreds of players who hope to hear their name called this weekend is former South Carolina tight end Nick Muse.
But for the 6-5, 259-pound Muse, being projected to be drafted on Day 3 is a testament to his work knowing that if he wanted to raise his draft stock this year he’d have to produce on more than just offense.
“You have to learn to be a special teams ace. That’s one of the reasons why I came back,” explained Muse. “After I tore my ACL I didn’t get much (of an oppotuniay) on special teams; they wanted me just on offense. I was about 80 percent healthy the previous year (in 2020) so I felt I could come back and help the program turn around with coach (Shane) Beamer’s first year. Plus, help on special teams because it was gonna do nothing but help me.”
Seeing his brother Tanner Muse drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, Muse has a unique perspective as a draft prospect. One of the biggest things he’s learned is that the more you bring to the table, the more useful you are to a franchise. So much so that he’s even been working on long snapping.
“That’s something you gotta learn as a player. Sometimes you don’t want to run out there on fourth down after you just ran a seam ball on third down and you’re tired and huffing and puffing but that’s where you make your money and that’s where you stay on a team. These teams need somebody that can do more than just run a route or block. As much as I can do I just want to try to help the team and whatever they need me to play I’m gonna do.”
Perhaps one of the best things to happen to Muse with deciding to return to USC last season was the Gamecocks hiring a full-time special teams coordinator, Pete Lembo, who is considered one of the brightest special teams minds in college football today.
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“Coach Lembo helped me a lot. He put me in a great position for both kickoff return and punt and gave me the choice of being a second-team guy for kickoff so if somebody ever got hurt I was the guy that could jump in there. Just being prepared and being ready for whatever he needed. Whether it was meeting with him once a week or twice a week, walking by and saying hello, it means a lot in a facility because that guys has as much power as coach Beamer does.”
Muse is one of a nearly a dozen Gamecocks who took part in South Carolina’s Pro Day last month. He’s projected to be drafted between the 5-7 rounds. Watch his complete interview with Gamecock Central at the top of the page.
RELATED:
– 2022 NFL Draft Guide: South Carolina
– Jaycee Horn shares his experience of being the first defensive player drafted in 2021
– Marcus Lattimore’s message to South Carolina athletes who get selected in this week’s NFL Draft
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