The Fringe #3 Draft Prep:
A look inside the process to go from college to the NFL...
The rookie NFL season is notorious for being a bit of a grind. I wasn’t there yet, but I was at the beginning of a long line of training, events, learning, traveling, and fighting. As you begin to plan and schedule out your draft prep there is a lot to look forward to. But for a guy on the Fringe, there is also a lot of uncertainty.
For those at the top of the ranks their process is more known. They’ve already been invited to the top events. They already enjoy financial comfort that comes with pre-draft marketing deals. Heck, some of them even choose to forgo different events of the draft process entirely.
There I was trying to plan things out. My college season, and career had just wrapped up. I had just signed with Sean Stellato, my agent. Now we are figuring out where I am going to do my training for draft prep. There’s a long list of industry names in the space; EXOS, X3, XPE, TEST, Bommirito. We are debating back and forth, at which is the best fit for me.
“This QB coach is here”
“This rehab specialist is here”
“Well, you need warm weather so you can throw everyday”
No stone unturned. A pros and cons list, calls with QB coaches, asking friends for recommendations. Finally after about a week the process is settled.
I packed my stuff, kissed my mom, hugged my dad and got on a plane to Fort Myers, Florida. I arrived and headed to the rental car place, picked up my white toyota corolla, and drove 5 minutes to the Home2 Suites.
As I approach the front desk the lady asks, “Checking-in?”
“Yes”
“Name?”
“EJ Perry”
“Ok let me see here… uh, ok got it.” she looks up with a smile. It was late December, just after Christmas. “Staying until February 28th?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
The reason for the hesitancy? The NFL combine is March 1st. The only problem, I hadn’t been invited yet.
It was only a few weeks prior that I had got invited to the Hula Bowl. Shortly after, an invite to the NFLPA bowl game in. Then, out of a little bit of surprise, I got invited to the East-West Shrine game. It all was happening fast. All-Star Game coordinators reach out and want an answer quickly. They need to make sure they have enough guys to put on the game. They know that the Senior bowl will eventually take some of their guys because injury and opt outs happen. So they want to lock you in.
I accepted the invite to the East-West Shrine game, and penciled it into my draft prep checklist. A checklist every college kid who’s desiring to be in the NFL is going through right now. That list looked like this…
Sign with Agent ✅
Find a combine prep training facility to workout for the next 2-3 months ✅
All-Star games (Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Game, NFLPA Bowl, Hula Bowl) : Invite Accepted to East-West
NFL Combine: Not invited yet
Individual Pro-day
Local Pro-day
Pre-draft 30 visits / Interviews
Draft Day
The lady at the front desk gets the keys and looks back up. “You must be one of the athletes here training.”
“Yes ma’am”
“Well welcome, we’ve had a number of your teammates check-in throughout the day.”
“Well, they aren’t, uh…” I began to say quietly.
“What was that?”
“Oh nothing.”
“Ok your room is on floor two the elevator is down the hall to the right.”
“Ok thanks.” I took my stuff up to my room and got unpacked. After getting settled I opened up my email and looked for my itinerary.
The next day I arose at 9am and headed over to the facility. I pulled up to an industrial park. A The facility is a massive warehouse in a sea of warehouses.
It’s a similar feeling to that of your first day of school. You don’t know anyone yet, don’t know the schedule or the routine, or where things are. I opened the door to the facility and began to get excited. A massive open building, everything in view. Straight ahead on the left side was the gym. Benches, racks, dumbbells, treadmills, etc. Behind that covering the whole backside of the building was a turf stretch, about 50 yards long. The middle of the expanse was set up for physical therapy. Massage tables, medical equipment, bands, and more. To the far right side was a bunch of tables and chairs arranged like a lunchroom. Against the wall behind it a bar leading into what I assumed was the kitchen. Directly to the right of me were two rooms with makeshift walls. I peered my head in to look; a lounge, and the recovery room.
“You must be, EJ” a voice yelled out behind me. I snapped back and looked. Smiling ear to ear, “My name is Jordan, we spoke on the phone. It’s great to have you here.”
“Thanks…” I said and then began to look up at the 30 foot high ceilings. As I continued to gaze around the place and stated the obvious, “this is quite the place you got here.”
“Yep, we just finished it last month. Come on, let’s get you started.”
I began to get butterflies in my stomach. For the last 15 years of my life there was a prerequisite to playing football - school. Now I was staring down the first opportunity in my life at 24/7 football. Everything I would do for the next 2 months and the foreseeable future would be solely focused on me becoming a better football player. A proposition of a lifetime.
Jordan motioned over to me, “Get undressed, and stand on here. Hold these and don’t move.” I did as he said, then sat back down in his office. 5 minutes later he walked over to me with a printed out sheet of paper. On it are my body fat composition metrics.
“This is one of the things we’ll track while you are here. You’ll meet with the nutritionist later this week to set up a meal plan. In addition, we’ll get baselines for your 10 yard, 20 yard and 30 yard splits, your broad and vertical jumps, 3 cone, and 5-10-5. Over the next 2 months…” he continued on, running me through what to expect. I listened intently.
“Here’s the week’s schedule” he finished and handed me a piece of paper. I looked down, and read the next day’s schedule.
6:30 am arrival/breakfast
7am-9:30am lift
9:30-10:30am combine drill training
10:30am-11:30am - physical therapy/recovery
12pm - lunch
1pm-3pm Throwing and position work at field
3:30pm-5pm - Interview prep
5pm - dinner.
The schedule would repeat itself Monday-Friday, and a half day on Saturday. Occasional guest speakers would break the routine; a former NFL player, a former NFL GM, financial advisor, performance coach, nutritionist, etc.
I had officially graduated from college just a few weeks prior. Just like any recent graduate you hunt in search of your first job. I was in the exact same position as everyone else in my graduating class. Furiously studying and prepping for my upcoming job interviews.
I had just about 30 days until my first job fair, in Las Vegas, Nevada -- The 2022 East-West Shrine Game.
These are great, EJ. Awesome job.