FRANKLIN, Tenn. – “I’d like to thank Tim Tebow for making all of this possible,” jokes Jordan Shipley, guitar in-hand unwinding after another day of working out at D1 Training and Therapy.
The Biletnikoff Award finalist and Heisman Trophy winning Superman headline this year’s group of prospects training for the NFL Scouting Combine at the facility co-owned by Peyton Manning.
While the laid back Texas receiver shows off his hands by playing a guitar in Music City, the amped up Florida quarterback mixes chocolate protein powder into ionized alkaline Kangen water, which helps his body regenerate — or “return to origin” as the Japanese translation indicates — faster than ordinary bottled water or Gatorade.
But before the six-string strumming and joking around by the water cooler, there is plenty of hard work to be done in preparation for the biggest job interview of an NFL player’s life. In fact, the workout regimen for Shipley and Tebow started some eight hours earlier.
Skill position players may get all of the glory on Saturdays and Sundays, but they arrive about an hour earlier than the 300-pound trench warriors during the week at D1.
Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and back-seven defenders (linebackers and defensive backs) throw their workout bags on the ground and start stretching between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., before organized group stretches and light jogging gets going on the Evergreen Synthetic Turf field at the indoor and climate controlled training area, which features glass roll-up doors. But in the middle of what is considered a blizzard by Nashville standards, the doors stay closed.
Once everyone is loose, it is time to clock three-cone drills and 5-10-5 shuttle runs. Although neither drill is as publicized as the 40-yard dash, both require as much technique and repetition in order to perform well under pressure in Indianapolis.
Stretching, jogging and cone drills are just the start of a daily routine that also includes position-specific drills, physical therapy and an afternoon weight lifting session, along with once-a-week yoga and rehab for many of the prospects who have traveled from coast-to-coast to train at D1.
“Literally, they’re on their feet seven hours a day,” says Kurt Hester, D1’s Director of Training. “But they all work hard and none of them bitch; no prima donnas who just walk around and don’t want to work cause they think they have it made.
“The guys who have more pressure on them to do well actually work harder. They work hard because they just have that drive. Not that they have anything to prove; they just have that drive. They work their ass off.”
Hester (left), a New Orleans native who has worked with the Saints and LSU among others, is the outspoken motivational voice of D1. Unafraid to get in just about anyone’s face, the top trainer in the room expects a little something extra — or “lagniappe” as they say in the French Quarter.
The President, CEO and co-owner with Manning is Will Bartholomew (middle), who founded D1 in 2002 and has continued to grow his brand while opening similar franchises across the country. The brother of current Volunteer Ben Bartholomew and a former Vols fullback himself, Will mixes it up with prospects, feeling “no pain” grappling with Tebow in a game of mercy during the afternoon weight lifting session.
Longtime NFL quarterback and offensive coordinator Zeke Bratkowski (right) is a new face at D1 but a veteran in quarterback circles. Bratkowski has traveled north with Tebow as his personal passing instructor, fine-tuning the lefty’s throwing motion, which will be unveiled at Florida’s Pro Day on March 17.
Spanning the generations, big Zeke laughs with Athlon Sports photo editor and longtime Packers fan Tim Clark about talking on the phone with Bart Starr in the morning before working with Tebow in passing drills.
While Tebow will not throw at the Combine, Shipley plans on running the gamut, doing any and all drills.
Following an extremely productive career at Texas — where Shipley had 248 catches for 3,191 yards and 33 touchdowns as a receiver along with 843 yards and four scores as a kick and punt returner — the versatile 6-foot, 190-pounder hopes to show off his physical tools for coaches and scouts at the Combine as he makes his transition to the NFL.
“He kind of reminds me of (Broncos receiver Brandon) Stokley — because I trained Stokley — just the way he’s built, the speed, his quickness,” says Hester, who also mentions Patriots first-down-maker Wes Welker as another apt Shipley comparison.
“In the weight room he reminds me of Stokley. He’s real explosive. He’s got the same speed. Stokley might be a little bit faster, but I think Shipley’s a little bit stronger. … He’s just a good dude. He’s really funny. He’s one of those guys that’s funny without trying to be funny. He’ll just walk around being himself, and he’s just funny.”
And while Hester wants everyone to maximize their measurables under the Indy microscope, he also wants each prospect to keep the process in perspective.
“At the Combine, they look to see how you’re going to compete and they want to see how you interview, what kind of person you are, how you handle being that stressed out. The physical part is probably the last part,” says Hester.
Both during and after sprints as well as position drill workouts, NFL and NHL chiropractor and A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) therapist Preston Wakefield talks with Hester and works with prospects individually at his on-field training table.
“Having an A.R.T. guy on the field has helped out a ton. He’ll sit there and look at them in movement and adjust them,” explains Hester.
“He looks at movement patterns and if their hip flexors are too tight or their hamstrings are too tight or their quads are too tight, he can walk over and release it so that it loosens up and puts them in the correct movement pattern. Between him and I looking at them, he’ll hear what I say and say ‘Oh, I can fix that.’”
Tebow, Shipley and several other players hit the table on the sidelines before jumping back onto the field, often with improved results.
“What I try to fix are biomechanical flaws in what they’re trying to do. Sometimes it’s really obvious, sometimes it’s not so obvious,” says Wakefield. “It’s not even about injury, it’s more about function. How’s your body? Can it be more efficient? What needs to happen?”
After breaking a sweat running position drills, the “skill” players break for lunch while the linemen patrol the turf at the D1 home office.
Manning co-owns three D1 facilities — in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga — but he isn’t the only accomplished athlete who co-owns and trains at D1. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers co-owns D1 Huntsville, former undisputed middleweight champion of the world Jermain Taylor brings “Bad Intentions” to D1 Little Rock, Rockets forward Shane Battier co-owns D1 Memphis and retired defensive lineman Chester McClockton is one of five co-owners at D1 Greenville (S.C.).
There are also three new locations, in Cincinnati, Columbus (co-owned by former Buckeyes linebackers A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Mike Vrabel, along with NHL star Jody Shelley) and Birmingham (co-owned by former Crimson Tide playmakers Brodie Croyle and DeMeco Ryans, along with Olympic bobsledder Vonetta Flowers).
The afternoon lifting session mixes weight classes, with Shipley and Tebow throwing weight around on the Hammer Strength machines and curling free weights with the likes of gigantic 6-foot-9, 320-pound Hillsdale fast-rising draft stock and left tackle prospect Jared Veldheer.
Each player has a weightlifting log they fill out after completing various reps and specialized exercises. Obviously, no one goes from light lunch to a heavy lifting contest. After a little digestion downtime, players start lifting at 50 percent of their max weight then move up to 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent, before finally maxing out at 100 percent.
Prospects also focus on the Combine-specific reps of 225 pounds, which is the weight lifted in front of a room full of both peers and team presidents in Indianapolis. Once again, Hester’s plan calls for a gradual increase before maxing out reps at 225.
“Did 195, 235, 255, but we had to do five seconds on the way down, so it was hard,” says Shipley in between breaths. “Now we have to max out at 225 after that.”
It may not seem as if strength is as important for Shipley as it is for say, Veldheer. But it is just another positive in a long line of selling points for a prospect whose versatility could improve his draft position by allowing a team additional freedom with its roster.
“I think the great thing about where I’m at right now is that I’ve done some of everything. I’ve done kick return, I’ve done punt return, I’ve played slot, I played half a year this year at X (split end),” says Shipley. “It’s good to be able to be versatile. I hold (on field goals). I did that for four years. So anything you can do like that, it helps.”
Like most red-blooded Texas football fans, Shipley — a central Texas coach’s son who was born in Temple and played under his father, Bob, at Burnet High School before signing on with Mack Brown at UT — grew up rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. But you won’t catch him with a star on his hat at the Combine.
“I grew up watching the Cowboys. But, I mean, at this point, when you’re looking for a job, you start liking everybody,” laughs Shipley. “You kind of have to be that way. But, yeah, I grew up being a fan, watching Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and all those guys.”
Across the weight room, Tebow goes about his business methodically, while a two-man camera crew films his every move for a film documenting the time between his final collegiate game — where he completed 31-of-35 passes for 482 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, and rushed 14 times for 51 yards and another trip to the end zone during a 51–24 win over Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl — and his first NFL game.
A physical specimen, Tebow is made for TV in the weight room — ripping free weights, owning the bench press and doing push-ups with heavy, thick chains draped around his body while the camera rolls.
Oh, and the squat machine, don’t forget the power source of his 2,947 career rushing yards and SEC-record 57 rushing touchdowns.
“He broke the belt on the squat machine yesterday, with 550 on it and it snapped the cable while we were squatting,” brags Hester. “He’s very, very powerful. He’s very explosive.”
When the lifting is done, players go their separate ways — to rehab, watch TV, play video games, call girlfriends or head to their nearby apartments.
In our case, Shipley grabs a guitar out of one of the D1 offices. Tebow arrives shortly after to re-hydrate with a little protein-powdered Kangen water and shoot the breeze about Florida football, John Brantley, Percy Harvin and the preferential treatment coach Urban Meyer shows his punt team.
Just another day in the life of a prospect training for the NFL Scouting Combine, which kicks off today, runs through next Tuesday and will be televised on NFL Network until Rich Eisen has run an embarrassing 40-yard dash in his suit, tie and dress shoes.
