A speedy recovery
Posted: Sunday March 07, 1999 01:22 PM
Click here if you
have a question for Torry Holt. He'll answer a question or two in each
week's diary entry.
I've never really gotten caught up in the NFL Draft before. I might have
watched it a little to see where a teammate would be selected, but I
wouldn't spend the whole day in front of the TV.
It hasn't hit me yet that I'll be one of the guys they'll be talking about
in April. I'm excited that I might get invited to New York to be at Madison
Square Garden for the draft, to hear my name called, put on that cap for
the first time and walk up to shake the commissioner's hand. I haven't
heard if I'll be there yet, but hopefully I'll get a letter soon. And no, I
haven't picked out a suit yet, but I'm working on it.
There's a lot of speculation as to who's going to go where with what pick,
and my agent keeps me updated with what he's heard. Everybody has their own
idea of where I'll go, but I won't know for certain until I actually hear
my name called. Until then, it's anybody's guess.
The NFL combines were definitely a great experience for me -- I didn't get
to do anything physically, but I really enjoyed the chance to meet a lot of
coaches and general manager.
After talking with coaches like Dick Vermeil and Mike Ditka and other
people like Ozzie Newsome and Eric Dickerson, I was very impressed. They
had a lot of questions about me, but they also had a lot of answers -- you
want to know what kind of player they're looking for, what their offense is
like and of course, what spot they have in the draft. It's flattering just
to talk to these coaches and think that your name is coming up in their
conversations about the future of their teams.
I didn't run or work out in Indianapolis because I want to get my right
knee back to 100 percent before I do anything. I injured it on the second
day of practice at the Senior Bowl in Alabama in January. When it happened,
I wasn't too scared -- I had heard it, so I knew I had done something. I
actually finished practice, and when I found out I had to come home for
surgery, I was frustrated. I wanted to compete, to really show people what
I can do, but I knew I had to get my knee healthy first.
At the combine, I got a lot of questions about my knee, and I'm glad I can
say it's doing really well. I'm impressed with the way it's come so far in
a short amount of time. I have full range of motion, and I'm able to lift
and run -- hopefully by the time camps open, I'll be at full strength, like
nothing ever happened.
I have personal workouts for scouts set up for later in the month in
Raleigh, and I want to do everything I can to show teams what I can do. I
can't do enough to show them what kind of routes I can run, how fast I can
run them and how high I can jump. I don't want to leave them with any
doubts as to what I can bring to their team next season.
N.C. State's Torry Holt is expected to be a high first-round pick in
next month's NFL Draft. Check back each week for another draft diary from
him at CNNSI.com.
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