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Reggie Ragland dunked in 6th grade but chose football over hoops. His reason was simple

MOBILE u2015 Phil Savage has been scouting Reggie Ragland for a while now.

First word came years ago u2015 before the Madison, Ala., product was at Bob Jones High School. Savage heard about an eighth grader who could hit 400 foot home runs and dunk a basketball.

"This guy's going to be a superstar," Savage remembers thinking back in the day.

But it was football that made Ragland famous. More than eight years later, the Senior Bowl executive director is watching the projected NFL first-rounder prepare for this week-long job interview.

Why football?

"I love the contact," the former Alabama linebacker said Monday in Mobile.