"I felt like I did great at pro day. The numbers didn't lie. I definitely got better since I was at Michael Johnson's Performance Center. They had me ready to go. I took a lesson from Ogbo (Ogbonnia Okoronkwo) and a couple of guys going through it. They were trying to basically paint a picture in my head of how they went through it and how they coped with it, especially going through the NFL combine. Pro day, for me, all of my nerves and everything was out. I knew what to expect and I basically made it fun. It made it that much easier to just go out there and compete. It was basically like I did regular drills without all the scouts there.
"I did the vertical jump first. I didn't meet my expectations, but 36.5 inches is something that I can live with just like my broad jump was 10-6. (10 feet, six inches). I was pretty happy about that. My 4.55 time in the 40 will help me in the long run. A lot of teams probably thought I was going to run a 4.6, 4.65 or something like that. I ran a 4.5 and some teams had me at a 4.48 and 4.49. When you get a time like that, it definitely helps and lets them know that you can run.
"I definitely wish I had more traction (on the shuttles and short drills) and kept my footing and everything like that, but I felt like my 3-cone and my short shuttle was great. I thought I showed them everything that they wanted to see. I was happy with all of my results. The bench (nine reps), I wish I would have got five more reps, but overall I was happy.
"The position drills were what I practiced every single day. You have to be able to move as a defensive back. That's what it was all about for me, showing how smooth I can be and being under control in my backpedal and coming out of my breaks.
"I didn't get a chance to talk to anybody after the pro day, but I did have a chance to talk to the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Rams on the day before. I'm just going to wait and see how everything plays out. I hopefully will get some phone calls after they get done with some of these other pro days and they will have a chance to talk to me. I felt like I opened up some eyes yesterday and I'll be waiting. Until then I have to stay ready. That's the most important thing. That's what I've been doing.
"My plan for the next couple of weeks is just to stay on top of it. I have to keep the same focus. I can now be in more into my regular regimen in terms of conditioning and basically go back into football stuff instead of going into 40s and the bench press test. I'm still going to do some of those things, but I'm going to get a chance to basically go back into regular training, and that's going to be a great opportunity for me."
0 Response to "Chasing an NFL dream part IV: Steven Parker's hopes solid pro day open doors for his future - Tulsa World"
Post a Comment