Shaw's focus now on completely on football as NFL Draft looms

Josh Shaw will be a busy man over the next few weeks. There are a lot of NFL teams that want to meet with him. He can't tell you off the top of his head where he'll be on any given day, but he knows his schedule is almost booked solid.

These days, Shaw is smiling. He speaks in a respectful, matter-of-fact tone that has always been a part of his makeup.

He's honest, too.

We haven't heard much from Shaw in the past seven months, but earlier this week, the former USC cornerback made his first public comments on campus since it was revealed that he fabricated a story about injuring his ankles while saving his nephew from a pool.

As a result, he was suspended indefinitely before returning to play the final three games of the 2014 season for the Trojans.

"I think when people go through things, they sometimes look back and say 'I'm glad I went through that because I'm stronger now,' " Shaw said. "For me, that's not the case. I truly regret everything I did. I definitely hit rock bottom."

It was a very uncharacteristic act from a person who'd been known by many -- his parents, present coaches, former coaches, teammates and even NFL personnel -- to have high character.

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Shaw spoke with NFL teams that told him he was "an A-plus" in all character areas except for the blunder last summer.

Although he wished he'd never done it, he did learn from it.

"Tell the truth," Shaw said. "The truth will set you free. If you are lying about something it will come out. The light will always come at the end of the tunnel. For me, it's just about not putting myself in certain positions, don't compromise myself, and just walk a straight line."

His focus going forward is on football. While participating in the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, Shaw was able to address a lot of the questions NFL personnel had for him. By the time he got the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis all of the teams, more or less, knew what they needed to know, he says.

As his schedule has filled with private workouts and meetings with various NFL organizations, the talk will be more about what Shaw can contribute at the next level and where he'll play.

"They like my versatility," Shaw said about NFL personnel he's spoken with. "They like the fact that I can play outside, I can play inside, and I can play safety. They have film of me doing all three positions. I think it just increases my value."

Shaw's first private workout is Monday with the Houston Texans.