NFL Draft prospect Maxwell Hairston shares a laugh while guiding Special Olympic athletes through a drill during the Play Football Prospect Clinic on April 23, 2025 at Titletown in Green Bay, Wis. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Before I start I just want to say one thing — holy smokes I’m blessed to live the life I do.

I trekked out to Titletown Wednesday morning for media availability with NFL Draft prospects and media personalities. I had the opportunity to speak with a half-dozen prospects that will be on site Thursday night. I was also able to speak with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and Fox Sports personality and the legendary Gus Johnson’s quarterback Joel Klatt.

Here are five things I learned during Wednesday’s availability with Lambeau Field in the background.

Maxwell Hairston will be a fan favorite wherever he goes

Leading up to Wednesday I received lists of players available for this session. On Monday I received the final list. A few names were gone, but one was added on.

That was Maxwell Hairston, a graduate of West Bloomfield High School in Metro Detroit who played cornerback at the University of Kentucky. So I threw on a highlight reel of his. My eyes popped out a bit.

Then I looked at his NFL Combine numbers. A 4.28 40-yard dash with a 1.5 second 10-yard split and a 20-yard split of 2.51 seconds. A vertical jump of 39.5 inches and a broad jump of 10-feet, 9-inches. My jaw dropped a little bit.

Then I got to see him interact with Special Olympic athletes. The dude has an aura around him.

He was the first person on my list of people to talk with. And man, he didn’t disappoint.

At Kentucky he majored in Community and Leadership Development. It’s a broad major that can allow him to do a lot of things with one specific goal in mind — give back

“I want to be able to give back,” said Hairston, who also dons the nickname “Mad Max”. “.I want to be able to help Detroit, Michigan, where I’m from. Be able to repay the favors that I get to play there. Giving it back to my community is really big for me.

“I’ve always wanted to put myself in position to be able to help.”

Tyler Booker is loyal beyond belief

As someone who played offensive guard in high school Booker was high on my list of people to speak with. The Alabama standout is a mountain of a man that you really don’t want to mess with.

Yet, for some reason, someone asked Booker if he’d say “War Eagle”. The look on Booker’s face was priceless to say the least.

Also, he hates pickles. But he’d eat one pickle every day for 10 years if it means Auburn doesn’t win a national championship.

But chatting with him revealed something that I firmly believe is in question in today’s college football landscape.

Booker is incredibly loyal.

He’s been loyal to his process to even get this point. His parents drive him two hours just to attend a specific middle school. After three years of high school football in Connecticut he transferred to IMG Academy in Florida, the same school which produced Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell, Who’s a pretty safe bet to go in the first round on Thursday.

But there was one question I wanted to ask Booker. I got my answer. It told me everything I needed to know about him.

What made Tyler Booker decide to stay at Alabama when Nick Saban retired? The pride he took in playing not exclusively for Saban, but playing for the University of Alabama.

“I made that decision based upon how I felt about the campus, I felt about the place, the tradition, the competition, everybody who I came there came from there before me,” Booker explained. “I feel like I owe it to them, and my teammates to stay and continue to be the leader I have been here before, and continue and further, the standards. That was truly an attachment to who I am as a football player and personally.”

Is No. 1 for sure a lock?

The last player I jumped in a chat with was Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who is built like a human bowling ball with biceps larger than most people’s thighs. Unfortunately the rain began to pour before I could ask him any questions, which was a shame because I was learning a good amount about him.

He revealed that he believes he’s a talented singer, describing himself as a mixture of Usher and Mariah Carey. He also asked us not to request him to show us. Fair.

But he may believe there’s a chance he’s the first name said by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday.

A reporter began framing a question about the possibility of a team potentially trading up to No. 2 or No. 3 to select him. The question was as follows: ” It seems like, you know, number one is probably out of the range, but there are a lot of teams that have talked about trading up to come get you. Have you paid attention to all this chatter?”

Once the words “out of range” were said Jeanty had an expression on his face. A mixture of primarily surprise and a light dash of “bro, really?”

Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe I’m reading too much into this. Maybe it’s Maybelline. But is there a chance that, based on last season’s running back success, that at the 11th hour the Titans pull the trigger on a Godfather-like trade?

We have no choice but to wait and see. And for that, I am grateful.

“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for The Daily Press (Escanaba). He can be reached at mvosburg@dailypress.net. Follow him on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch) and on X (@realmitchvburg).