University of Tennessee Athletics
Pro Day Puts Tennessee Trained On Display
April 07, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
Pro Day at the Anderson Training Center sees the logos of all 32 NFL teams displayed on the hats and jackets of scouts from those teams as they observe the next class of Tennessee Trained athletes make its case for a professional football career.
The day is about more than just running drills for scouts, it is about showing the results of four years of preparation and development on the football field that has them ready to take the next step. Just as Butch Jones and the Tennessee staff prepare players for every other challenge they face as Volunteers, director of player personnel Bob Welton helps prepare the seniors for the most important day for their budding professional careers.
"Being at Tennessee, you're going to have scouts from every NFL team here every year for Pro Day," said Welton, who spent nine years as a scout for the Cleveland Browns prior to joining the UT staff in 2013. "It's always a big day for seniors because, unless they go to the combine, this is their day to shine. It is their chance to show what they can do, all of their eggs are literally in this one basket. We take it seriously like that and put on a good show for them."
Welton works with players throughout their careers on building their personal brand with the goal of a professional career, whether on the field or off of it being the ultimate goal. The way the players carry themselves every day helps build that brand and set the tone for whatever comes next for them.
For Pro Day, Welton and his staff provide the best possible situation for the athletes to perform for the scouts. The players are provided with uniforms for the day and an organized schedule takes them from drill to drill, each run by a member of an NFL staff.
"My job is to set up the best scenario for them to perform well," Welton said. "I can tell them ahead of time what to expect and get them as prepared as possible."
Physically, the Tennessee Trained philosophy of strength coach Dave Lawson and his staff has the Volunteers prepared to run through those drills and to make the impression necessary to get an NFL opportunity. But Lawson does not just train players to perform in a combine setting, he prepares them to be football players.
"We train them for success on the football field," Lawson said. "Part of that process leads up to this. It's like getting the answers ahead of a test. They know how to run the 40, how to run the shuttle, the vertical jump, the broad jump. This is the culmination of everything over their career and that's where you want them to finish, with a positive."
Their performances are the result of being challenged every day, whether it is a fall practice in preparation to face another SEC foe or a workout in the winter, the goal is improvement every time they enter the building.
"I want to see these guys do well," Lawson said. "I think that gets clouded sometimes on a day-to-day basis because for us to push them every day, we can't sugarcoat things. To challenge them and push them every day, I think sometimes they lose sight of that we want the absolute best out of them and for them every single day. To see a guy like Devrin Young, to see Jordan Williams and Matt Darr all hit personal records on Pro Day, that makes you feel really good because we encourage them to hit that every day."
Director of Player Personnel for the Oakland Raiders Joey Clinkscales sees that progress and the results of the training players receive at Tennessee.
"I think Coach Jones is doing an excellent job and is getting the right kind of kids in here," said Clinkscales, a VFL himself and the captain of the 1986 Volunteers. "More importantly, I think he has the right staff, from the strength program to the nutrition staff to help get the kind of players here where winning means something to them. You will be able to reap the benefits of that very soon."
Clinkscales knows what to expect out of Tennessee Trained athletes when he looks at game film and enters the complex for Pro Day.
"I expect to see guys that have won games," Clinkscales said. "Guys are here because of what they can do on the field. Guys that have won football games, guys that know what it takes to play at the next level because guys that are there now have come back and given them the lay of the land. I think the sky is limit for these guys."
That reputation for Tennessee is a source of pride for everyone in the program. Lawson said it was one earned primarily by having all aspects of the football program on the same page.
"I think you want to have a good reputation with whatever job you have," Lawson said. "With Coach Jones and our staff, it speaks volumes because we all speak the same language, we all push to get the same effort, whether it's on the field, academics, the weight room or nutrition, consistency is key for us."
One of the observers wearing an NFL logo was not a scout, but a player that was running through Pro Day himself a season ago. Current Miami Dolphin Ja'Wuan James was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft after boosting his draft stock at Pro Day last year.
James encouraged his former teammates through drills, but also frequently works alongside them in the weight room during his offseason. James is one of several current NFL Vols that comes back to train at Tennessee, providing an example for the current Volunteers.
"They see him, they see how he trains," Clinkscales said. "He has a year under his belt in the NFL so he can come back and tell them the stories about what it's like and what to expect and the work ethic that it takes to improve."
Lawson sees the influence that James and his fellow NFL Vols have on the current team when they return to the complex. It is an influence he welcomes with open arms.
"I think it's a very big positive to have that happen because you want to have a relationship with your players so they always feel comfortable to come back and train here," Lawson said. "You want the younger players to see that, you want them to train with them so they can gain that knowledge. We teach them, guide them and direct them on a day-to-day basis, but they can gain knowledge from those guys that are playing at the next level right now."
And as more Tennessee Trained players build their presence in the NFL, so will the profile for future Volunteers that have the same professional goals. Welton observed the mid-year enrollees taking in the Pro Day exercises, seeing an early opportunity for those players to grow.
"The big thing is scouts are looking at your behavior and trying to figure out your personality rather than what you're doing on the field," Welton said. "Justin Coleman had been to the combine, they know his numbers. They were here to see him interact with his teammates, to see what kind of leader he is. Don't think they're just here to watch a 40 [yard dash], eyes are always on you."
