NFL Prospects Stand to Lose Much if They Fail to Work Out Most Important Muscle Before Combine

Hogs' Treylon Burks, John Ridgeway stand to lose money if mental mistakes made

I passed by a teacher’s cubicle recently and was stopped down by a banner she had made to either brainwash herself into believing bad days don’t exist or to set an unreasonable expectation that she’s a failure should she have bad days.

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With NFL combine having hit full stride today, it reminded me that perhaps the most overlooked part of the process, a part into which we rarely get insight, is the interview cattle call with the teams.

Players immediately begin preparing for the underwear Olympics portion of the combine as soon as they can shake free of the shackles of their college programs, pushing their arms, legs, tendons, and even the size of their hands to the max in hope of an extra half inch here or pound there that might make at least one team fall in love with them.

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And while there are times a player can physically work his way down a few spots if the numbers don’t work out perfectly, it’s usually the one muscle they neglected in those months of preparation that creates the potential for free fall – the brain.

The reason is simple. Bad days do exist, and a bad day by a player worth millions of dollars representing a brand worth billions of dollars is a potential nightmare both on and off the field.

Is a player going to get rattled when someone talks trash to him all day? What’s he going to say or do the first time he’s asked actual tough questions without a university PR system there to protect him?

Will he be the next guy to rip off someone’s helmet and beat them over the head with it on the field, or snap and drag his girlfriend by the hair out of a hotel elevator? Or perhaps it’s even more simple in that he doesn’t seem to display a true passion for the game needed to push through the demand of having your best day every day to stay in the league.

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Either way, teams want to know how a player will handle bad days while revealing mental deficiencies, and they’re notorious for doing whatever it takes to unveil that knowledge. Teams used to ask players if they were homosexual or if their mother is a prostitute just to see how a player would react to something any random fan or athlete across the league might say to get them riled up.

Players have been asked to remove their shirts for interviews and even been subjected to coaches removing their shirts also to see how a player handles something unexpected or possibly uncomfortable.

Just this week, North Carolina’s Sam Howell was asked to display his accuracy by taking shots on a Nerf basketball hoop during his 15-minutes with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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While Howell reported he didn’t seem confident the team would take him since he only made 2-of-5 baskets, he wasn’t playing a closet door sport for six-year-olds for accuracy. He was doing it because they wanted to see how he handles something completely unexpected.

His demeanor, reaction, attitude, willingness to jump in with excitement, focus, competitiveness, it was all being broken down.

It wasn’t whether he made the shot. It was all about what he did before and after the shot. Did he reveal competitiveness and drive by asking about how many shots other quarterbacks made and then swear to spend time practicing to beat the highest total posted next time the Eagle saw him, or did he slump his shoulders and leave discouraged?

For Razorback receiver Treylon Burks, the passion in his voice for playing football had better greatly surpass the passion shown when they ask him about snapping up a thick crappie on a shiner out of a Saline River borrow pit or he will fall on draft day.

WR Treylon Burks on how playing at @RazorbackFB and in the @SEC has prepared him for the league:

“You’re playing against the best every weekend. You’re basically playing against a pro right there.” pic.twitter.com/gnOgOV7paX

— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) March 2, 2022

If they ask him how he’s going to handle his future wife taking all of his money and moving on to the next stud wide receiver when his career is over, he will have to see that comment for what it is and keep his cool.

If he realizes they’re just pushing his buttons and keeps a flash of anger out of his eyes, he’ll make himself a good chunk of money. If he doesn’t, he stands to lose way more money than his hypothetical divorce could ever cost him in real life.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Hogs defensive lineman John Ridgeway will find himself possibly being probed about his aggression and how he feels about putting together an eye-catching physique that scares people when he gets off the bus. 

If he can walk the line and make it clear that his aggression is a football aggression built around physically dominating any man put in front of him as opposed to “Ruthless Aggression” where he pretends to dominate the man in front of him, he can potentially build a life in the NFL and avoid getting labeled a WWE wannabe by league executives.

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In the end, being able to speak in clear, complete sentences with the confidence and compassion of a man who will represent the team well in the community makes money. Handling the unexpected and turning it into a positive experience under the worst of circumstances makes money.

However, coming to the combine having failed to exercise your brain muscles along with all those delts and quads means you’re going to have a bad day.

And no matter how many times you write it on a banner to remind yourself, it’s going to cost you money.