Coach Tom Bass brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to USA Football. Along with answering youth coaching questions, he also receives emails from young players. You can email the coach at NFLAskTheCoach@aol.com.
A number of you have asked about the NFL Combine, so I wanted to give a brief description of what takes place.
More than 300 player participants arrive in Indianapolis starting Feb. 24 until March 2 at staggered times by position. Player participation is by invitation only and represents the elite college players who are eligible for the NFL Draft.
All 32 NFL teams will send their top executives, coaches, player personnel people and members of their medical staff to the Combine .
The cost for each club is about $75,000. For this money, each club is able to watch the players go through the various tests and workout drills, receive a complete medical report on every player, receive a copy of all test results and a tape of each player's performance, plus have the opportunity to sit down and interview players.
During the time that a player is at the Combine, he will be weighed and measured, given a complete physical (including baseline brain testing), have his picture taken, plus perform various physical tests. These tests include: the 40- yard dash, the bench press (225 pounds maximum number of reps), vertical jump, standing broad jump, three- cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. Each player has his test scores recorded.
In addition to the physical tests given to all players, there will be different drills that the players will be asked to do based on their position.
As an example at the quarterback position, each player might be asked to go through taking a snap from center and executing a 3-, 5- and 7-step drop. Then he would be asked to drop and throw a variety of passes including Slant, In, Out, Corner, and Up. The NFL representatives not only want to see his accuracy and arm strength, but they also want to observe how quickly he sets up ready to throw, how he holds and carries the ball and how the ball comes out of his hand.
After the Combine is over and the personnel from all the NFL teams have returned to their home bases, the meetings will begin to evaluate all of the information and impressions they have about each player.
From all of his information and follow-up discussions, each club will decide which players they want to bring into camp prior to the Draft for further interviews, workouts and evaluation.
For many college players, being selected as one of the elite players invited to attend the Combine can be an exciting experience, but attending, meeting and testing can also be stressful when they realize that this time is really an important job interview that can change their lives forever.
The Combine will be televised on NFL Network, so if you have a chance, spend a few minutes and watch the players perform. I really hope this information helps answer the questions that a number of you have sent to me.
I will be back answering more questions next week.
Coach Tom Bass
Coach Tom Bass, the technical writer and advisor for USA Football, is a 30-year NFL coach who has also authored several books, including "Play Football the NFL Way" - the first "how to" book ever authorized and published by the NFL. Coach Bass is happy to personally autograph his books to you. Book ordering information can be found on http://www.coachbass.com/.
