Michael Conroy/Associated Press
When Mekhi Becton signed up for the football team at Highland Springs High School in Virginia, he picked wide receiver and tight end as his positions. He was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 215 pounds.
“At 13 years old, when someone is that big, you anticipate them growing even more,” Loren Johnson, Becton’s high school coach, said in a telephone interview on Monday, four days after Becton became the Jets’ top draft pick. “I had to inform him, ‘Son, if you continue to grow, you’ll grow out of that position in about two weeks.