MOBILE -- It is the eternal question, asked of every would-be NFL player who finds himself at the Under Armour Senior Bowl.
Which kind of house pet would you rather be?
Seriously.
"Would I rather be a dog or cat? For real? I didn't know how to answer that one," said former Alabama center Antoine Caldwell. "I was thrown off."
Obviously, Crimson Tide teammate Rashad Johnson had a better scouting report.
"Oh, I said, `Dog.' A dog is man's best friend, but when his territory is threatened, he's ready to fight," Johnson explained. "Football's the same way. You can be a nice guy off the field, but on the field you have to protect your turf any way you can."
While NFL scouts and general managers spend a week watching the nation's best senior football players work out daily at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the physical exhibition is only part of the routine. The best of the lot, including Caldwell and Johnson, get pulled aside for a battery of mental tests.
Dog or cat aside, they both welcomed the questions of intelligence and mental composition.
Caldwell has two degrees. Johnson has one with long-term plans to return to Alabama as a law student.
"I'm more excited about that than I am the stuff on the football field, because it shows them how sharp you are and how quick you can react. Well, at least to other questions," Caldwell said.
