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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MOBILE, Ala. -- Josh Shaw is a 6-foot, 198-pound cornerback. He can run with fast receivers and fight physical ones. He also played safety at USC and appears capable of playing every position in an NFL secondary. And he\u2019s intelligent. For example, here is his explanation for why pro teams have begun to covet larger cornerbacks. \u201CThe receivers are bigger,\u201D Shaw said. \u201CSo from a matchup standpoint, it behooves organizations to have bigger corners.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw seemingly has everything an organization would want. So, why isn\u2019t he near the top of 32 draft boards? Because he lied to everyone at least once, and every team in the NFL knows it.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;NFL teams are willing to forgive a lot of misdeeds when drafting or signing players. The occasional fractured law has not stopped teams from drafting prospects who executives feel can catch, tackle or throw at a high level. But what if a player told a whopper so big that he had the entire country thinking he was a hero before everyone realized he was a liar? Could a general manager or coach ever trust that player? How big a risk would team officials consider that player -- who has a clean legal record and otherwise clean behavioral record? Will teams consider actual crimes more forgivable than a blatant lie? These are fascinating psychological questions, and we\u2019ll get some answers when we learn where Shaw gets drafted.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw has told the story more times in the past two weeks than he can count. Not &lt;em&gt;that &lt;/em&gt;story, but the one he says is the real story. At the East-West Shrine Bowl last week and the Senior Bowl this week, scouts, coaches and team execs have peppered Shaw with questions. Why would Shaw jump off a balcony in Los Angeles, sprain both ankles and then concoct a story about saving his nephew from drowning in a pool 60 miles away in his hometown of Palmdale? Why would he allow USC to disseminate the lie, to hold him up as a hero, when he knew his story was bogus? Why would he rope family members into defending the lie, knowing they would be called liars as well when the truth emerged?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw tried to answer those questions in a November interview with the &lt;em&gt;Los Angeles Times&lt;/em&gt;. He said he had a loud argument with Angela Chilton, his girlfriend of almost eight years, on Aug. 23. A neighbor called the police, and Shaw said he jumped from the balcony to avoid the cops. Then, to explain his injuries to his coaches, he invented the story of the drowning nephew.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw knows how stupid this all sounds. He has known it since August, and he had to think about it every day that he sat out between the exposure of the lie and his reinstatement to the Trojans on Nov. 19. He was supposed to be a team captain. Instead, he was only a bit player, logging time in the season\u2019s final three games. \u201CUsually, coaches want to go back and see your last season on film,\u201D Shaw said. \u201CUnfortunately, I don\u2019t have many games in my 2014 season.\u201D He\u2019ll probably have to explain why regularly from now until the draft in May. \u201CI realize where each of my mistakes were,\u201D Shaw said on Wednesday. \u201CI think that\u2019s important to [NFL teams], that I know where I messed up and what I could have done different. It\u2019s important to be transparent with them.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw quickly realized that NFL teams had done their homework. People had been sent to Los Angeles and Palmdale to ask questions, and Shaw knows that if his account doesn\u2019t correspond to what the investigators found, he would dig an even deeper hole. \u201CEvery question they ask me, they already know the answer to,\u201D Shaw said. \u201CIt\u2019s important for me to just be honest with them.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw has offered no excuses for the lie. \u201CI don\u2019t point fingers,\u201D he said. \u201CEverything that happened in the past is solely because of me.\u201D He hopes owning the situation will help convince an NFL team that he can move forward without further drama. That\u2019s why he doesn\u2019t get frustrated with the questions. He knows his answers will help shape his career path. \u201CThey want to look me in the eye and have me look them in the eye and tell the truth,\u201D Shaw said.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Had Shaw left USC after the 2013 season, as he considered doing, he probably would have been a higher-rated prospect. He had nothing to explain then. His college coaches would have given him glowing references. Still, Shaw doesn\u2019t regret returning to USC. \u201CI promised my family I\u2019d get my degree, and I did that [in December],\u201D Shaw said. \u201CSo no second thoughts.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The team that trusts Shaw enough to invest in him will get an intriguing player. His experience at safety makes him versatile, and his physicality should help against bigger receivers. He has worked this week on playing a yard or two off the line of scrimmage in press coverage instead of lining up in a receiver\u2019s face as he did in college. Shaw admits his aggressiveness in press coverage has gotten him beaten on occasion, and welcomes the opportunity to learn a new style that lessens the risk of a receiver blowing by him if Shaw overextends himself trying to gain control.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shaw will work on that while also trying to regain control of his own life story. He knows his lie will force teams to carefully examine every word he says between now and the draft. But he believes he\u2019ll stand up to the scrutiny and emerge stronger. \u201CI take full accountability for what happened,\u201D he said. \u201CI learned from what happened. I would never embarrass my family, myself or any organization ever again.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/22/josh-shaw-usc-trojans-nfl-draft>