2011 NFL Draft: Trainer Todd Durkin's Q&A Explains Gatorade Rookies' Preparation

As football fans twiddle their thumbs in anticipation of this month's NFL Draft, the athletes they'll (hopefully) be cheering on in 2011 are hard at work getting ready for their first professional season.

Gatorade and NFL Films have teamed up to produce the Everything to Prove series, which has been covering 14 of this year's top rookies since February, and facilities across the country have been busy preparing other members of the 2011 draft class for the rigors of the NFL.

Renowned trainer Todd Durkin, who owns Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, has added several promising prospects this year to a roster of regular clients featuring Super Bowl champions Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. In conjunction with Gatorade, he's also been planning the "offseason" workouts of a few lucky writers, including B/R's Jack Harver.

Recently, Jack was able to get a few minutes of Todd's time to talk about these prospective NFL players' pre-draft experiences.

Winston Venable

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 04: Winston Venable #17 of the Boise State Broncos reacts after making a stop on fourth down against the TCU Horned Frogs in the fourth quarter during the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on January 4, 201

Jack Harver: First off, I'd like to hear about your draft prospects. Who are they, and are there one or two who've really impressed you in training?

Todd Durkin: My emphasis in the past has been with current NFL guys, though we've had a pre-draft program and a [NFL scouting] combine program as well. [We've got Oklahoma safety] Quinton Carter—and Winston Venable out of Boise State, who's a sleeper to me.

[Venable] is a guy who doesn't have the biggest name, but can play football and is going to surprise people, whether he's drafted or he goes undrafted. He's kind of a safety or outside linebacker 'tweener as far as his size, playing at 215-220 [pounds] with good movement.

Workouts

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LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 06: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor #5 of the Virginia Tech Hokies runs with the ball as safety Winston Venable #17 of the Boise State Broncos defends at FedExField on September 6, 2010 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Gett

JH: That stands out, hearing you in particular say a guy's got good movement. It ties in with some of the training you've had me do with the TRX, emphasizing flexibility, agility, and coordination.

It really hammers the point home, for me, that Winston Venable's not just some lumbering hulk.

TD: I love the stories of the Winston Venables, guys who had great college careers but got overlooked because they're 'tweeners.

What happens a lot of the time is that these guys [who] are big are stiff. That's the one thing that impresses me about Winston, that he's not stiff in his hips. He's got good hips, he's got good mobility, and he can flat-out run.

I think he'll do really well at his pro day and I think, if he gets a shot, he's going to make it in the NFL because he moves well.

Quinton Carter

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DALLAS - OCTOBER 17: Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin #84 of the Texas Longhorns runs for a touchdown against Quinton Carter #20 of the Oklahoma Sooners at Cotton Bowl on October 17, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

JH: You mentioned Quinton Carter, too. What about him?

TD: Our guy Quinton, he's a ball player. He's strong, he's fast, and he's got really, really good ball skills.

Wherever he goes—it could be as high as the second round [or] as low as the fourth round, you never know—a guy like Quinton is going to open some serious eyes. The guy was built to play football, and I think he's going to have a long career in the NFL.

Pre-Draft Training: The Combine

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 1: Defensive back Quinton Carter #12 of Oklahoma works out during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

JH: What I'm hearing from you is a strong emphasis on these guys' speed and movement skills.

Is that the main thing you're after in working with draft prospects—working on their movement? Is there a common thread in the goals that college athletes have for making the transition to the NFL?

TD: You know, it's twofold.

The first aspect is that you've got to teach for the drills they're going to get tested in—the 40, the short shuttle, the three-cone drill, the vertical jump, the broad jump, the bench press. All the tests, you know.

It's kind of interesting, training for a combine or pro day. It's not necessarily the same kind of training they're doing when they're in an offseason program. It's a lot more teaching how to beat the test than how to play football.

Pre-Draft Training: Football Skills

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NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 11: Quarterback Christian Ponder #7 of the Florida State Seminoles runs the ball against Quinton Carter #20 of the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by R

TD: To me, [training for the tests] doesn't necessarily make a great football player. Now that these guys are done with the combine and their pro days are winding down, we get to start training for football, which is what they're meant to do.

It's going to get cranked up here in the next week or two with our draft guys. It'll be really important for them, because of the whole lockout situation, that they're prepared.

At the next level, the speed of the game is a lot faster than what they're used to. For guys like myself, it's going to be really important [to] replicate the conditioning that they'll need as well as some simulation—the speed of the game.