In the fourth installment of his draft journal, Iowa running back Fred Russell describes his experience at the NFL Combine.
By Fred Russell
NFL Draft prospect
After four days of being evaluated, tested, questioned and displaying my physical skills my NFL Scouting Combine experience is over.
| Fred Russell, RB |
Fred Russell |
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| Feb. 16: Draft Journal Part III | |||||||||||||
| Feb. 9: Draft Journal Part II | |||||||||||||
| Feb. 2: Draft Journal Part I | |||||||||||||
The main thing I want to say is I was flattered to be invited and a part of it. I went in with the mindset that I was going to have fun because the combine is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hopefully I left a good impression with all the scouts, general managers and coaches. I honestly believe I did.
The toughest thing for me was keeping my focus when I did my bench press. I woke up ready to do the bench press but before I did it I had to go through the medical evaluation. It would've been easy for me to get upset, but I remained patient while I was checked over by the doctors.
Once I got a clean bill of health from the physicians I was ready to press the 225 pounds. I got on the bench and did 21 reps, which was in top five of all the running backs at the combine. I was confident that I would do well in but I was a little concerned about running the 40-yard dash.
My hamstring was a little strained and I was worried that I might injure it while running. When I got into the blocks for my first attempt, I blocked out the fact I was a little less than 100 percent. I got the signal and ran the 40 yards in 4.49 seconds on my first attempt. On the second attempt, I got through the 40 in 4.45 seconds. Even though they were good times, it is a little hard for me to be satisfied since I was about 85 to 90 percent. I'm confident I can run faster and will do so on my Pro Day.
As far as meetings with teams, those went fine. I met with representatives from the Raiders, Giants, Buccaneers, Rams and several others. All the coaches, scouts and general managers treated me great and I enjoyed meeting with them.
The other enjoyable thing was meeting some of the other players when I was in Indianapolis. It was great to actually meet some of the guys I've seen play on television. Everybody I met up there was real cool and I liked it when we got to sit around and just talk football.
I also spent a lot of time with my agents. I'm represented by Andy Simms and Wesley Spencer of PlayersRep and they were there with me every step of the way at Indianapolis. They are straight-up guys and they did an awesome job of preparing me for the combine experience.
On Saturday night I met Andy and Wesley in the restaurant at the hotel. They also represent Jonathan Harrell, a standout linebacker just up the road from me from Northern Iowa. I had never seen him play and have gotten to know him better since we are represented by the same guys. We spent about an hour talking about the combine and I told him what to expect. Jonathan told me he read my journal and said he took my advice and was going to be patient.
I also spent time with Andy, Wesley and Adrien Clarke, an offensive guard from Ohio State, on Friday night. We talked about the Big Ten and our thoughts about the NFL. Adrien had a real solid workout and it was great to get to know a good prospect from another Big Ten school. On the plane ride back to Iowa on Sunday I felt relieved that I gave it my all and did the best my body would allow at the combine. Overall I'm satisfied with how I performed. I could have done better but I feel like I left a good impression on the teams.
Now I'm back at it working out and getting ready for our Pro Day on March 8. I feel I passed one test and now it's on to the next test. I can't wait to do the workouts again for the NFL personnel.
