Tennessee State brothers chase NFL dreams as they’ve done everything else: together

On a chilly Tuesday morning in March, as winds blew through the parking lot of X3 Performance and Physical Therapy in Nashville, Tennessee, inside the facility one could hear trainers yelling “let’s go” and MoneyBagg Yo’s “Time Today” playing on the loudspeaker.

Six days before Josh and James Green’s NFL pro day workouts at Tennessee State University, the brothers were wrapping up their individual “off day” recovery training, which included four-cone box drills, 90-degree cornerback break drills and 180-degree turns.

As this year’s NFL draft inched closer, the two former TSU defensive standouts were training side by side, hoping to make their dreams of playing pro football a reality. The Greens know the odds are stacked against them. Only one HBCU player, Jackson State University cornerback Isaiah Bolden, was selected in the 2023 draft.

Josh Green, 24, redshirted his first season in 2018 before playing five seasons at safety. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound athlete ended his career at Tennessee State with 276 tackles and tied for third in program history for career interceptions (11). 

“He [Josh] was the quarterback of the defense,” said TSU head football coach Eddie George, who inherited the two brothers when he became the program’s coach in 2021.

At 26, James Green is a draft outlier in age, the “grandfather of the program,” as George likes to say. The linebacker spent seven seasons at Tennessee State but played only five; he suffered devastating shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2022. The injury in 2019 resulted in a medical redshirt. The 2022 injury earned him an additional year of eligibility in 2023. He tallied 186 tackles with 15.5 for loss during his TSU career.

The last TSU player drafted in the NFL was Lachavious Simmons, who was selected by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round in 2020. The Greens hope to change that or receive a phone call to sign a free agent deal, stamping their names among the elite brother duos in TSU football program history.

According to ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid’s seven-round mock draft, which was published Monday, the Greens are not projected to be drafted. However, their agent, Zach Spires, believes they could sign with teams as undrafted free agents or receive rookie minicamp invites. The brothers know their best chance to land an NFL roster spot comes on special teams, and their position skills – and according to their former coach, they’ve been groomed for the job.

“They understand kick slides and spread punt formations, so they’ll have that advantage in a team’s camp,” George said.

The two also have been reared from NFL experience in TSU defensive coordinator Brandon Fisher, a former secondary coach for the Los Angeles Rams and son of longtime NFL coach Jeff Fisher, and defensive backs coach Richard McNutt, who coached on the Cleveland Browns’ staff in 2008.

“I may not get an [NFL] opportunity,” James Green said. “The injuries, being older, I understand the business. But I’m running my race for whatever God has for me.”

Josh Green agreed. “You have to find ways to get in the door,” he said. “I’m ready, and there’s no turning back.”

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Understanding the brothers’ process – and their grit to succeed – requires exploring their roots in Orlando, Florida.

Before they could fathom training for the draft, the Greens’ football careers started in middle school with rugged workouts led by their father, George Green, in the garage of the family’s condo.

By the time James and Josh Green stepped off the bus in the evenings, “Big Green” was already blasting music from the speakers and setting up the garage as a makeshift gym after a full day of work. The bald, 300-pound George wears many hats — he is security director for the megachurch Calvary of Orlando, running his own security business and working security personnel for the Orlando Magic.

The improvised studio included multiple 3-foot-wide sawhorses as makeshift hurdles, free weights and pullup bars. But before Josh and James Green lifted their scrawny frames or leaped over the hurdles, their father drove his car behind them as they ran a mile in agonizing strength shoes, even on weekends.

“People would drive by and look at us crazy,” James Green recalled with a laugh. “We weren’t playing video games, having fun and sleeping in on Saturdays. We worked.”

Josh Green said the gritty workouts bred the brothers’ competitive nature.

“We didn’t always understand the point behind the training early on. But it gave us the mindset we needed to succeed,” he said.

That’s all their father wanted. In a city filled with four- and five-star talent, he believed his sons needed a strong work ethic – and some size. He put high-calorie honey buns in his sons’ book bags to eat at school. After a while, he checked their book bags and noticed the pastries smashed flat like pancakes.

“To this day, Josh won’t eat a honey bun,” George Green said with a big laugh.

Initially the boys’ mother, Charmaine, an education disciplinarian and longtime corporate human relations professional, disagreed with her husband’s tactics – “I wanted them to be nerds in the classroom” – but after seeing his vision for their sons, she came on board with a couple of conditions.

“Make sure they’re safe with proper helmets and give them the proper training they need to take a hit,” she said.

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George Green’s plan for his sons – along with help from a trusted trio of trainers, Lo Wood, Cory Fleming and Matt Bloom, began to pay off.

James Green emerged as a promising, hard-hitting safety by his junior season at Dr. Phillips High School, an upper-echelon football program in central Florida. Players such as Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano, free agent linebacker Sevyn Banks and former NFL star Ha Ha Clinton-Dix starred at the school.

But there was one problem: While James Green attracted media and Division I recruiters’ attention for his production, his brother Josh, despite being on the school’s varsity roster, was simply watching his older brother shine from the sideline. At a practice during his sophomore season, football coach Rodney Wells told George that the younger Green was too small and would never be a Division 1 athlete.

George and Charmaine Green placed their son Josh at the school’s archrival, Olympia High School, for a fresh start ahead of his junior season. The two schools are separated by five miles. James Green despite receiving dozens of Division 1 scholarship offers at Dr. Phillips, suited up with his brother in Olympia’s secondary for his senior season.

However, when the Greens left Dr. Phillips, they received pushback.

“People said we messed up James’ career,” Charmaine Green said. “DP’s program was great, but its culture didn’t align with the values for our sons. We taught them to depend on God and George [Green], not a coach.”

Despite the rocky transition, it allowed the brothers to share the field together for one season at Olympia High. It also gave their parents a glimpse of what it would be like to watch both of their sons live out their football dreams at the same university.

“To see your boys run on the field together against Notre Dame last season and cheering them on, I didn’t think we’d be here,” an emotional Charmaine Green said.

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Coming from Tennessee State, a storied historically Black program that is home to two Pro Football Hall of Famers yet underfunded in resources compared with Power 5 schools, the Green brothers have taken full advantage of the assets at the X3 facility, which includes a top-tier weight room and physical therapy, elite recovery options and on-site nutrition.

They completed pro days on March 26 at TSU’s indoor football facility. Josh Green ran a hand-timed 4.69 40-yard dash, registered a 31.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-9-inch broad jump.

“I would compare his [Josh’s] game to New Orleans Saints’ Tyrann Mathieu,” Tennessee State coach George said. “He’s in the right place at the right time, studies film and [is] always creating turnovers.”

James, who seeks to return to the safety position in the NFL after playing linebacker, clocked a 4.68 40-yard dash, 32.5-inch vertical jump and 9-foot-8-inch broad jump. The brothers also participated in the Tennessee Titans’ local pro day April 11.

Fewer than 2% of college football players secure a NFL roster spot, according to NFL Football Operations. If football doesn’t pan out, the Green brothers, who earned master’s degrees from TSU on the same day, are ready for the workforce.

Josh completed an internship with Deloitte in August 2023. He plans to create a diverse business portfolio and become the face of a Big Four accounting firm. James seeks to enter real estate and become a cop for the Orlando Police Department. They also plan to help their father with his security firm.

The brothers have seen each other in their darkest moments. James Green leaned on brother Josh when he was crying, missing sleep and wondering if he should end his football career following his shoulder injuries, while Josh always knew his brother was there to protect him or help in coverage on the field.

“God orchestrated this bond,” their mother said. “He will see fit for them to be great because we’re built different.”