As soon as Chris Horton’s plane touched down in Indianapolis, his interview began.
He was immediately ushered to a local hotel and given an itinerary detailing just about every minute of his next four days. Before long, the former UCLA safety was being examined by doctors he had never met and discussing his personal life with coaches he had never seen.
And after a whirlwind few days, it was over ““ an exhaustive experience at the NFL combine that will inevitably have a huge impact on his future in football.
For Horton and three other former Bruins, last week’s combine was an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of a shot at the NFL.
“I just wanted to go in and compete and show coaches that I belong there,” Horton said.
The combine played host to 333 of the nation’s best collegiate players, including former Bruins Dennis Keyes, Bruce Davis and Brandon Breazell, for a frenzied event designed to assess the top talent for the NFL’s draft on April 26.
It included comprehensive medical exams, physical drills, intelligence tests and countless interviews with representatives from all 32 NFL teams.
While much of the media attention is focused on the performances of the top few players, the combine was just as, if not more, important for those who came to Indiana without all the hype.
For players such as Horton, Keyes, Breazell and Davis ““ who are not expected to be first-rounders ““ it was a chance to show their physical skills and also their personalities off the field.
“I just wanted to have some good interviews and impress some guys,” Keyes said. “All it takes is for one guy to like me.”
Players were given just about every opportunity to impress that one scout or coach because of the format of the combine. Every night had designated time for interviews, and if teams had not formally scheduled a player, then they could pick anyone they wanted from a room full of prospects.
“If you have a scheduled interview or not, those guys can just grab you,” Horton said.
Although this gave players opportunities to make an impression with multiple coaches, the dizzying system led to something like an NFL version of musical chairs.
“You’re constantly being turned in different directions,” Keyes said. “I’m pretty sure I talked to every team.”
For Horton, who mentioned that he had interviews with teams including the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, some of the questions did not fall into the normal category of getting to know the man behind the face mask.
While interviewing with the Texans, a coach asked Horton if “there’s any film of you hitting somebody that would make me go crazy?”
And like anybody interviewing for a job, Horton affirmed there was and gave the coach his cell phone number.
In general, scouts and coaches refrain from giving any predictions about where a player may fall in the draft and mostly focus on the personal aspect of each player.
“They haven’t really told me about the draft,” Keyes said. “We just talked about my character. They want to see what kind of personality I have.”
Although interviews gave players a chance to talk about life off the field, the importance of the physical drills were not overshadowed. For skill position players, such as all four of the former Bruins, this means one thing ““ the 40-yard dash.
“The 40 is the most talked about thing that they have to do,” said Alvin Nelson, Keyes’ agent. “(A tenth of a second) could be the difference in going in the first or third round.”
Keyes’ official time in the 40-yard dash was 4.59 seconds, according to Nelson, while Breazell ran the 9th-fastest time for receivers with a 4.47.
For Horton, the hyped-up drill is important, but there’s only so much you can do to run a good time.
“You’re only so fast,” Horton said. “There are not too many things you can do to post great times. Your speed is your speed.”
The 40 and other positional drills were the final events of the combine, but the process is not over. All four former Bruins and others who were not invited to the combine, will have the opportunity to work out in front of scouts one more time at UCLA’s Pro Day on March 13.
“I’m very excited to be in this situation,” Keyes said. “It’s definitely a long process. It’s been nonstop working out and traveling. I’m definitely ready for the draft to pop up as soon as possible.”
His former teammate in the secondary echoed his sentiments.
“Pro Day’s coming up,” Horton said. “It’s a long process, and it’s not going to stop until I’m in someone’s camp working to make a team.”