Timing is everything
Posted: Tuesday February 16, 1999 04:21 PM
This is the third in a series of weekly diaries from some of the top
prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. Look for another entry each day, with
a new entry from Boston College tailback Mike Cloud every Wednesday at
CNNSI.com.
A big part of the NFL combines this weekend in Indianapolis will be the
40-yard dash, especially for the players at skill positions like tailback
or wide receiver. No matter how big you are or how many yards you rushed
for in college, your 40 time is one number that all the scouts will
remember.
I've spent the last few weeks in Atlanta training with several other draft
prospects to get ready for the combines. We've worked on so many different
aspects of sprinting -- my stance, my start, stride length, stride
frequency. I never knew so much went into just running.
My fastest 40 in the workouts was a 4.39, but that was outdoors and timed
electronically. The combines will be indoors and everyone will have their
own stopwatch. There's so many factors to the 40 -- is it indoors or
outdoors? Grass or track? In pads or in shorts? My goal for the combines is
to run a sub-4.4, and now I at least know that can happen for me.
The training has helped me a lot, both in my confidence and my times. I was
tested from day one, and by the end of the sessions, my times had
definitely improved. Just getting used to the drills we'll be doing at the
combines will help us -- by doing them over and over, we're so familiar
them now that they're like second nature.
After the combines, I have two personal workouts scheduled with scouts at
Boston College with my classmates, so I have about a month of intense
training and scrutiny ahead of me.
I'm hoping to make the same impression at the combines that I had at the
Senior Bowl last month. I think I opened a lot of scouts' eyes to what I
can do. I was optimistic going into the game -- I told myself I just needed
to run the same way I did all through my career. I finished with a
game-high 117 yards on 12 carries, and I think things went well because I
treated every carry like it was the last one I'd get. We were rotating so
many backs in and out that I really didn't know how many chances I would
get -- I was so used to being in games the whole way that it was tough to
come out.
Most people are projecting me to go somewhere in the middle of the second
round, but I'm hoping I can improve my position with a good showing at the
combines. There are some great backs in this draft class, even just from
the Big East. I met West Virginia's Amos Zereoue at the Big East preseason
media day at Giants Stadium last year, and I met Miami's Edgerrin James
down in Florida last month. We get along real well and have been able to
talk about the combines and the draft and what we expect to see. I can't
worry about anyone else but myself this weekend, but I've trained hard
enough and long enough to be confident when it comes time to line up and
show what I can do.
Mike Cloud is expected to be one of the top running backs taken in the
1999 NFL Draft in April. Check back each Wednesday for another draft diary
from him at CNNSI.com.
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