Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

CHICAGO - It's silly season when it comes to the NFL draft, but even this seems like a bit much: An NFL scout anonymously questioning Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple's readiness for the NFL because of his cooking skills, or lack thereof.

Well, Apple is pulling out the Ginsu knives on his critic, saying at a pre-draft event in Chicago's Grant Park today that he's a fine cook, thank you very much. And not that it matters anyway.

"I can cook on the field," said Apple, a projected first-round pick.

Apple's mother, Annie, tweeted that Apple's "dad is a retired five-star chef," and Apple said that his father used to be a cook at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia.

Ohio State cornerback Darron Lee said he took a cooking class with Apple at Ohio State, though Apple said that wasn't the case.

Regardless, Apple called the scout's criticism "crazy" and said he's even cooked for several of his Buckeyes teammates.

"I’m hearing about this and I don’t know why I’m hearing about it because quite frankly it’s kind of making me mad," Apple said. "I used to cook for everybody. I used to cook for my boy D-Lee. All the prospects out here, they know my cooking is A-1, so it doesn’t make sense."

The scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was worried about Apple "because of the off-the-field issues," saying the transition to the NFL would be significant for the 20-year-old.

"The kid has no life skills," the scout said. "At all. Can’t cook. Just a baby. He’s not first round for me. He scares me to death.”

Apple said his specialty is making breakfast - "I can make waffles," he said. "I can hook the eggs up with the bacon, the cheese, mix it in there a little bit. Hash browns. I do it all. And lunch, too. I can make a couple burgers for you. Hot dogs. Whatever you need, I can provide." - and he said he doesn't think the scout's comments will impact his draft stock at the end of the day.

"If this drops my draft stock I’ll definitely be mad because it’s definitely false," Apple said. "It can’t though."

The Detroit Lions are among the teams that showed heavy interest in Apple during the pre-draft process.

Apple said he made a top-30 visit to the Lions and received good feedback from Lions coaches.

"They said they liked me a lot," Apple said. "But that was about it."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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