Dispatch
Players prep for drilling, grilling
NFL hopefuls face physical, mental tests at combine
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 2:49 AM
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Kyle Robertson | Dispatch
Doug Worthington, left, and Thaddeus Gibson work out with Eric Lichter, director of football performance at Ohio State.
Prospects at the NFL scouting combine are put through an extensive and bewildering array of drills and tests.
They endure the posing and prodding that go on with the physicals, the perplexing Wonderlic problem-solving test and the personal prying of the individual interviews.
But the 40-yard dash, the three-cone drill, the L-shaped shuttle drill, the max repetitions bench-pressing 225 pounds, the vertical leap, the standing broad jump - those are the Cirque du Soleil events of the combine.
Those can produce the moments when a prospect can leave scouts, coaches and administrators either shaking their heads in disappointment or slack-jawed in amazement. Thaddeus Gibson, for one, believes it's a show he's been training for his entire life without even knowing it. The former Ohio State defensive end's brother Rafael reminded him of that the other day.
"He remembered when I was younger just doing back flips and running around in circles in the middle of the street just because," Gibson said. "And now it's a time when I can actually do it, and perform, and show people I can do the things I used to always love to do.
"So I'm excited, and I'm ready to go."
Having left college with a year of eligibility remaining, he will get his chance at the combine this week in Indianapolis along with three other ex-Buckeyes - safety Kurt Coleman, defensive lineman Doug Worthington and kicker Aaron Pettrey - and Ohio University receiver Taylor Price, a Hilliard Darby product. For all, it's like gaining a shot in front of the American Idol judges. It is not the time for stage fright.
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