FanPost

A look at the NFL Combine

This coming week looms big for College hopefuls in the NFL's Combine, held between Feb. 18 - 24 in Indianapolis Indiana.

Basically this is the job interview that happens with college players hoping to get drafted by a NFL team. Instead of sitting down in front of a Human Relations person asking you a barrage of questions, the hopefuls go through several drills while over 600 people that include, GM's, Head and Assistant coaches and scouts from the NFL teams watch and evaluate their performance.

So what happens at the NFL Combine? Are the college athletes required to look like the famous Cirque du Soleil performers? No, not exactly. Here is what they do go through though:

40 yard dash - What we hear all the time as the 4-40. The athletes are timed at 10, 20 and 40-yard intervals. Speed is what is looked at here.

Bench Press - Bench press 225 pounds. This is a test of strength and endurance. The number of times they can do this shows the scouts how well they hold up.

Broad Jump - This shows scouts the athletes lower body strength and tests explosion and balance, because he has to land without moving.

Vertical Jump - How high can you jump? Basically this is a test of explosion and power vertically. Each Athlete will be tested by a machine that will measure how high your fingers touch when going directly up in the air.

3 Cone Drill - Three cones are set out in an L-shape. They start from the starting line, go 5 yards to the first cone and back. They turn, run around the second cone, runs around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around that second cone and finishes. This tests an athlete's ability to change directions at a high speeds.

Shuttle run - This one makes it look like the athletes are trying out for Dancing with the Stars. It is known as the 5-10-5. They start in a the three-point stance, run out 5 yards to the right, touch the line, goes back 10 yards to the left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and turn 5 more yards and finishes.

60 Yard Shuttle - The same as the above but instead of the 5-10-5, it's the 10-20-10. This one is probably one of the best to show conditioning of the athlete.

The Cybex Test - While this isn't the most important test a prospect must go through it test's the flexibility and joint movement of each athlete. They are hooked to a machine which will show the scouts the results.

Position Specific Drills - Each athlete will participate in drills for their specific position. This is where the scouts and others keep a very close eye on the ones they are really after.

All brawn and no brains doesn't bode well for the prospects so they have to take a test. It's called the Wonderlic Test. They have 12 minutes and contains 50 questions. The test is designed so most athletes do not finish in time. It is similar to a I.Q. test.

They will also go through a physical to determine past injuries and how they have healed and have to take a urinalysis test.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.