Maximum Exposure

Friday, Feb. 3 INDIANAPOLIS

The National Invitation Camp, known to all as the scouting combine, is one of the critical set pieces of the draft process. Each team chips in more than $20,000 to ship the best 350 prospects to Indy for two days of medical, IQ and personality tests as well as for football drills. Everybody who's anybody in the league attends.

"I'm in the balance of being scared, versus, well, I can't do anything about it. so let's just play," says Elkins as his plane touches down at Indy. "In the end, what's important is that you do well for yourself. You don't ever want to look back with regrets."

Saturday, Feb. 4

At 10:30 a.m., Elkins goes to the Convention Center to undergo a thorough physical. First he is required to urinate in the presence of a doctor; the sample will be analyzed for banned drugs. Next comes an eye test. Scurrying from examining table to examining table with his medical chart. Elkins rattles off his history of injuries to team physicians, orthopedic surgeons and trainers. "I was sorry I'd told them about my pinky, which I broke when I was 10." says Elkins. "They X-rayed it yesterday, and today they asked me about it over and over. Who cares?"

Roll the head and neck. Touch the toes. Let us see your shoulders. Elbows. Wrists. Hands. Fingers. How about your hips, knees, ankles and toes? "One time, I was on my back, with doctors working on each leg and arm," says Elkins. "Limbs were flying in all directions. I felt like a turtle that couldn't get turned over."

Sunday, Feb. 5

Today Elkins is simply QB4. The Hoosier Dome looks like the site of a track meet. On one side of the field, running backs are doing the standing long jump; on the other, they're racing around orange pylons in a shuttle drill. In the middle, wide receivers are running routes.

Elkins stows his gear in the locker room and then is photographed from the front, back and side. His body fat, arm length and hand size are recorded. Loosening up for the 40-yard dash, he feels the magnitude of what is about to take place. He peers into the stands and notices Mike Ditka, Bill Walsh and Al Davis. "The guys who run the league," says Elkins. "My adrenaline started pumping."

All the passing drills are videotaped. His throws are on target, but the ball flutters and lacks velocity. "I've never had trouble throwing spirals," he says. "The footballs were old and worn. The leather loosens; they get bigger. They felt like rugby balls."