Road to the draft: Orakpo tackles the interview process
(NFLDraftScout.com will follow Brian Orakpo's road to the NFL from the combine to his Pro Day workout to the '09 draft in April. This is the second in a four-part series. Part I)
With Texas' upcoming pro day March 25, Brian Orakpo is focused on proving his versatility. He's one of several college defensive ends in this draft class being examined closely by NFL teams employing 3-4 defenses for a potential move to rush outside linebacker.
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| A hamstring injury limited Orakpo at the combine. (Getty Images) |
"It's like what I told all of the teams (at the combine) that talked to me about playing linebacker," he said. "I'm not the guy that can potentially play the position, I'm the guy that can play the position -- and I have the film to prove it."
The film Orakpo refers to stems from his play as an outside linebacker each of the past two seasons. At times the Longhorns operated out of a 3-4 defense, putting Orakpo on the edge in a stand-up position. The Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers -- three teams using the 3-4 defense with top 10 selections in April -- all spoke to him about in Indianapolis.
Orakpo said the interview process is the most underrated component of the combine. In all, he estimated that he was interviewed by "26 or 27" of the league's 32 teams. Head coaches, general managers and even position coaches attended.
"A very key part of it is the interview process," Orakpo said. "Teams want to know your knowledge of the game. They want to know if you have an idea as to what is going on around you, as far as other positions on the field. So you get some teams that want you to explain schemes and responsibilities on the (white) board. I thought that was one of the things I demonstrated well. I gave a good synopsis of what each player is responsible for in the scheme. I feel like I passed that part of the test well."
Orakpo had to hope his interviews went well, because a pulled hamstring limited him to only some of the defensive-line drills and kept him from participating in the linebacker drills.
After measuring in at 6-3 and 263 pounds, Orakpo finished among the top-seven defensive linemen tested in the 40-yard dash (4.70 seconds), vertical jump (39.5 inches) and bench press (31 reps at 225 pounds). He was engaging and personable in the interview with media and, according to scouts, was the same in meetings with league personnel. "The combine was a great experience for me," Orakpo said. "I performed about as I expected. I would have liked to have finished the workout, but by working out there, I gave them (scouts) an idea of what I can do. I'll do anything else they'd like for me to do March 25."
As with any NFL prospect, the first day at the combine involves extensive medical testing. For a player like Orakpo, who missed multiple games in 2007 and 2008 due to knee injuries, assuring teams he is healthy was the first critical step necessary toward preventing a slip down draft boards.
"They wanted to make sure that the two knee injuries I'd sustained earlier had healed properly. The medical stuff wasn't as bad for me as it was for a lot of the guys there," Orakpo said. "The first injury was a high-low injury that happened in the first game of the 2007 season (Arkansas State). The second injury was an MCL sprain that actually occurred last year against Texas Tech. They were two unfortunate injuries that I couldn't control, but luckily neither of them required surgery. Rehabilitation was the key for me and I'm good to go."
The "high-low" injury Orakpo suffered in 2007 is a common one endured by defensive linemen and linebackers. Essentially, Orakpo was cut blocked by a back while engaged with the offensive tackle. The injury -- the worst of Orakpo's career -- kept him out of four games his junior season. Some have suggested that Orakpo was rushed back after the injury because he only was able to play 17 snaps in his first game back. The game wasn't just any game, however. Despite his limited playing time, Orakpo finished with three tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack in a high-profile matchup against left tackle Phil Loadholt in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma.
The medical testing took up much of Orakpo's first day in Indianapolis, but he also met with the media and went through several interviews with teams before getting a chance to actually do the workouts for which the combine is so famous. The workout was "part of the fun," according to the hyper-competitive Orakpo.
It was during the second of his 40-yard dash drills that he felt his hamstring tightening up, ending his workout before he had an opportunity to show his fluidity in linebacker drills.
With the interviews scheduled back-to-back and many of the same questions being asked team after team, Orakpo struggled to come up with some of the specifics of the meetings.
"Cleveland seemed pretty interested, though that is just from my perspective," Orakpo said. "Coach (Eric) Mangini and the rest of the staff seemed very interested in what I bring to the table. They made a comment after I was talking about the scheme responsibilities that I 'passed the test' and then they started asking me other, funnier, more random questions like about my favorite TV show (Family Guy) or the first musician on my iPod (Lil' Wayne) and stuff like that."
His Pro Day will be the next time Cleveland scouts, or representatives of the other teams Orakpo felt showed extra interest in him (Seattle, Green Bay, Denver and Washington) will get an opportunity to see him.
Since taking a few days off after the combine, Orakpo has been busy preparing for that date back at Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz. with fellow linebacker Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) and fellow defensive end/potential outside linebacker Larry English (Northern Illinois). His focus has been rehabilitating the hamstring and preparing through cardiovascular work to perform well at the Pro Day and the minicamps shortly after the draft.
Rob Rang is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.
