Bengals interviewed Toledo OL Greg Mancz

The Cincinnati Bengals were one of 12 teams that Toledo offensive lineman Greg Mancz met with on Tuesday night, the Mid-American Conference player of the year said. Interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine are limited to 15 minute conversations and usually result in word associations and other generic testing mechanisms.

Per the SB Nation website HustleBelt -- a site that covers the Toledo Rockets -- Mancz "earned freshman All-American honors in his first season, was third-team All-MAC as a sophomore and second-team All-MAC as a junior..."

Mancz's senior year was recognized with a first-team All-MAC selection, a spot on the All-American second team and the MAC's Vern Smith Leadership Award, the title given to the top player in the MAC as determined by the conference's coaches. He was Toledo's third winner in the 33-year history of the award (joining Wasean Tait and Bruce Gradkowski), and the only offensive lineman to ever win the honor.

Despite playing tackle and guard earlier in his career, Mancz featured as a center during his senior season, anchoring a line that produced the nation's 12th-best running attack. The Rockets piled up 256 rushing yards per game on 5.79 yards per carry, a number that bested even national champion Ohio State's juggernaut ground game. As a center, Mancz was asked to clear out inside lanes (often pulling) for Kareem Hunt and company, and he was able to win his battles more often than not.

It should be noted that Mancz is a Cincinnati native, but grew up as a Browns fan. Join me as we shout, "boo".

"Every year, I’d see the [highlights] of The Drive and The Fumble," Greg said, "and he was kind of like, ‘OK, we're going to move on.’"

Instead, he stayed neutral, adopting quarterback Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

"When we had the opportunity, we always went to Browns-Bengals games and my dad would wear the Browns stuff, our two friends would wear the Bengals stuff, and I’d be wearing the Favre jersey," Mancz said. "The one idiot in the green, just because I didn't want to pick a side."

We'd like to caution one point: Just because a player is interviewed by the Bengals doesn't mean that player or even that player's position will be drafted by the team. In addition to finding the best draft picks, they keep a file on all players as due-diligence for down the road (such as free agency or waivers).