The NFL Scouting Combine. You’ve likely heard the words on your radio or television, probably more than once. The combine. What is it? It’s a chance for football players hoping to turn professional to showcase their skills in front of scouts, members of the media and anyone bored enough to tune in to the NFL Network. The big draw is the 40-yard dash. Everyone wants to know who the fastest prospect in the upcoming NFL draft will be. They run for those four to five seconds, and then the entertainment value is gone. They bench press, vertical jump, broad jump and do various drills. Every second could be the difference between getting a job or falling back on their (hopefully) college degree. The biggest kick in all of this? It turns out the numbers athletes post at the combine don’t always translate onto the NFL field. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell had what some experts refer to as “the best Pro Day workout in draft history.” If you follow professional football, you know how that turned out. (Russell played three seasons, won just seven of 18 games and was later arrested on drug charges – though he did snag a contract with $32 million guaranteed.) On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tom Brady posted one of the worst performances in recent memory. He looked out of shape and slow and fell to the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Oops. A lot of hype goes into the Scouting Combine and Pro Days. I can understand fans being excited at the thought of their team improving by drafting one of these potential Pro Bowl athletes. I’m a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan (sad I know) and you better believe I’m paying at least a little bit of attention to what Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston are doing. Personally, I prefer Winston to be the Bucs selection with the number one pick, but covering the Pac-12 I can’t help but like Mariota. I’m veering away from my soon-to-be point. Here goes. Listening to CBS Sports Radio ramble off the latest results from the Scouting Combine had me thinking: what if we all had to go through a Scouting Combine or Pro Day? Picture it with me: “Here we are in the desk to copier dash. Jane has some excellent footwork as she makes it there in 13.2 seconds.” “Scouts are knocking Steve for his lackluster numbers in the words per minute category. He mustered only 24 and had four errors!” “Saturday saw an all-time record fall as Billy bagged 13 bags of groceries in an outstanding 35 seconds!” The majority of us are required to go through some sort of interview process, typically meeting with our potential employers face to face. Sometimes we are put to the test in a sort of scouting combine, proving that we are up to the task. Law officials and military members have certain physical requirements they must pass. Apparently you can’t become a pilot astronaut without at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in a jet aircraft. Even I had a pro day when I interviewed for my position here at KVOA. After meeting the news director and various producers, I was taken into the studio where I was to do a mock sportscast. Halfway through the teleprompter went out. I assumed my potential employers wanted to see how I would respond to a crisis so I ad libbed my way through the remainder of the sportscast. Turns out, they didn’t do it on purpose, but they were impressed with my ability to keep going without missing a beat. It was a funny thought imagining us “regular folk” performing in front of scouts and having our results discussed for hours on end on social media. In my case, my little pro day worked out for the better. I’m still waiting for that multi-million dollar contract though…
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AuthorRichie is a small-town boy chasing big-city dreams. When he's not involved with sports, he's spending time with his wife, Fallon; their yorkie, Tinker; and their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rosie. Archives
April 2016
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