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Injury inquiry McAllister looks to be this year's Jamal Lewis
INDIANAPOLIS -- Deuce McAllister had been behind the microphone for just a minute or two on the first full day of the NFL Scouting Combine, and already the questions all began to sound alike. From all corners of the room came a steady drumbeat of doubt and skepticism aimed at the University of Mississippi running back: "What about the shoulder problems? What about the ankle? What about the hamstring?" The specter of injuries past seems to cloud the future of at least one top-10 projected pick each draft season, and this year it's McAllister's turn. It's only late February, but the man they call Deuce looks like the second coming of Jamal Lewis . Lewis, of course, was last year's reigning poster boy for the looming injury debate. A 1999 knee injury made the Tennessee running back the perceived risky pick of the 2000 draft, opening him up to a round of probing, prodding and questioning. But Baltimore ignored the medical doomsayers and made Lewis the first running back taken overall, in the No. 5 slot. He responded magnificently, rushing for 1,364 yards and finishing second to Denver's Mike Anderson for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
In the eyes of many, McAllister poses much the same boom-bust quality. Draft experts give him a strong chance to wind up in the top five, and be the first running back off the board. But slightly more than two months away from decision day, McAllister's final draft position appears to be inextricably tied to the Combine medical reports that will assess the state of his problematic shoulders. "Jamal had a great [rookie] year, and when he was at Tennessee, the knock or rap on him was he's an injury-prone guy," McAllister said Friday. "And you see what he did for Baltimore this year. "I look at that situation, and I'm proud of Jamal. But in my mind, I know I'm not an injury-prone guy. I've just had some bad luck with injuries in the past couple years." McAllister suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder in 1999. Last year, in the season's third game, he suffered the same injury to his right shoulder and struggled with it the rest of the year. His senior season was also marred by a high ankle sprain and a hamstring pull. Hyped as a Heisman candidate, McAllister's 2000 season was mostly pain and little gain. He played in all 11 games, but rushed for a modest 767 yards, compared to 1,082 during his sophomore year and 809 his junior year. Since the Rebels' season ended, at a disappointing 7-4, McAllister has devoted his energy to rehabilitating both his body and his draft viability. He skipped the Senior Bowl after a January visit to orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews, who devised special shoulder exercises designed to strengthen the smaller muscles around McAllister's AC joints. And in recent weeks McAllister has been working out daily with doctors and trainers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "The shoulders aren't a problem now," said McAllister, who underwent medical exams and X-rays on Friday morning. "The biggest concern I had with the Senior Bowl was my shoulder. Playing the whole year with that injury I never really had time to recover fully. So I wanted it to be 100 percent when I came to the combine and not have any trouble with the doctors or with any teams." The Combine is, of course, all about exposing a player's physical flaws before they cost an unknowing club millions. But McAllister said it has been so far, so good in Indianapolis. He lingered after his medical evaluation by the league Friday, half expecting to be sent for further X-rays or an MRI. But no such request came. But that doesn't mean McAllister's path to the top five has been cleared. He has elected not to participate fully in Saturday's running back drills at the Combine, and will conduct a private workout for NFL teams March 21 in Oxford, Miss. "If everybody would work out here at the Combine, then I wouldn't have a problem at all working out," McAllister said. "But when guys start scheduling their personal workout date, it's just about getting a comfort level in what their doing. ... Once you put up the numbers, the numbers aren't going to lie." If McAllister, 22, puts up enough of the right numbers on both the medical front and in his private workout, running back-needy teams like Cleveland at No. 3, Cincinnati at No. 4, New England at No. 6 and Chicago at No. 8 might all be positioning themselves for a shot at him. He was to meet with Bengals officials Friday night, and Cincinnati no doubt views him as a potential replacement for running back Corey Dillon, who could bolt as a transition-tag free agent. For his part, the Deuce is determined to stay loose when it comes to the topic of his future. "Things are coming along pretty well," he said. "The only thing you can't do is get uptight, because all the coaches and the scouts you're talking to, you've got to realize they're humans just like you are. So you don't let yourself get uptight about the whole situation. You just go out there and try to enjoy it." Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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