Could a guy who made a college name for himself on the field of the Den of Depression continue his football career on the same turf?

It seems plausible after South Florida Bulls workhorse running back Marlon Mack said yesterday that he and Bucs representatives have spoken with each other “a lot.”

And it was not about buying season tickets.

Joe was there while Mack held his press conference at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. The last time a prospect at the Combine told Joe he spoke to the Bucs often? It was Penn State tackle Donovan Smith two years ago. And who drafted him, again?

Joe’s experience talking to college prospects is that if a team talks to a player several times, there is real interest. Teams don’t waste valuable time on a guy without serious interest.

(No, Joe doesn’t get worked up when a player says he talked to a team. Of course he has. The story here is if a player at a Combine didn’t talk to a team. That why each NFL team sends virtually its entire coaching and scouting staff to the Combine. But when a player says he has spoken to a team “a lot,” that gets Joe’s antennae up.)

Mack is the all-time rusher in USF history. Maybe realizing he could have let the cat out of the bag on the Bucs, he quickly tried to backtrack saying he has spoken to virtually all NFL teams the same amount. Maybe.

But again, if the Bucs (or any team) were lukewarm or disinterested, they wouldn’t have wasted the precious time with him. Would you, as a supervisor at your workplace, interview a prospective employee multiple times if you already decided he/she would be a bad fit? Of course not.

Let there be no mistake: Mack really wants to play for the Bucs, partially because they need a running back, partially because the Bucs are an up-and-comer and partially because Mack is a Florida native and would prefer to stay away from chilly climates.

Mack ran for over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons at USF and averaged 6.2 yards a carry. By comparison, superstar Dalvin Cook averaged 6.5 yards a carry in his three seasons at Florida State.

Below are highlights of Mack from last season. May want to mute the volume as the background music contains NSFW lyrics.