The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2007 NFL Combine: Tim Crowder
02.27.2007 | Football
What have you been doing since the season ended? The first thing after the game was over, about two days later, I left and came to Tempe, Ariz., and started training for the combine and the Senior Bowl. I started doing a lot of position drills and a lot of combine drills. I went to the Senior Bowl and had a great time down there. After that, I went right back to training for the combine. I think I did well there.
What did you take from the Senior Bowl? The Senior Bowl just spearheaded everything. It had a lot of things I thought I could expect from the combine, so I think the combine wasn't too bad because I had been to the Senior Bowl. I got to meet a lot of the coaches there, so the combine was like reuniting with some of them. They already knew how I work, and I got to start some good relationships with those coaches.
What have those meetings with coaches and general managers been like for you? Some of them are a little different. Some of them are more relaxed and some are more intense. Some coaches try to come at you hard and figure out who you are and try to see if you're going to break. It's just little things - how hard you shake hands, if you're looking everyone in the eye when you're talking to them. Those are the little things that they go over with you at Texas. Little things like that make a difference.
Did you make any connections with certain teams or coaches? Not really, the meetings only last about 15 minutes, so it's hard to get an instant connection with coaches, but all in all, it felt like the Redskins showed some interest. I met with all 32 teams, and they all seemed to like me, but you never know.
How were the meetings at the combine, did they seem to just rush you from one to the next? That's exactly how it is at the combine. It's 15 minutes and there are coaches and GMs, and it's kind of nerve-wracking at first. Like I said, I'm glad I got some experience with it at the Senior Bowl, because I knew what to expect and I think I did a good job.
To on-the-field, how did your skills tests go this weekend? I started out with the bench press and did 32 reps. The next day we did the 40 first. I unofficially ran a 4.68 and then officially, they had me at a 4.69, but to be 270-plus pounds, I think pound for pound I did the best of the group. The only guys that ran faster than me were under 260 pounds, so it made it look even better. In the three-cone drill, I did a 7.28, and in the 20 shuttle, I did a 4.32. In the vertical, I didn't do too well, but it really didn't matter, because they had me doing defensive line drills, but they also had me doing linebacker drills. By that time, it was exhausting, and I was cramping up, so I just went over there to get it out of the way.
With Brian Robison having success also at the combine, how does it make you feel for you both to be doing so well under that spotlight? It's great. Just with the fact of what coach Giles taught us, and going over things and doing drills, it all paid off at the combine. The fact that we both did so well, I don't think I was expected to test that well, and I turned some heads. (Brian) was expected to test well, but he still came through well. All in all, we both did really well.
What was it like to have so many familiar faces in your eight teammates there with you? It definitely makes you feel comfortable. Everybody comes in at different times, so you don't get too much of a chance to see them, so it's still like you're on your own a little, but after you run, maybe you see someone in the hallway, and it's a great thing to see them there. You can really see how good of a program Texas is to have all that talent at the combine.
Have you made any new connections with other players either in your training or at the Senior Bowl or at the combine? I get along with everybody, and I'm the type to connect with a lot of people. I'm still cutting hair, and I'm cutting hair out here. I'm really cool with Lamarr Woodley and Buster Davis. Actually, Brady Quinn and I are really cool; we workout in the mornings. There are a lot of guys - Dwayne Jarrett, Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson - we all workout together. You kind of get that vibe, because you're all pushing each other, so you get to the combine, and it's kind of like they're your teammates, also.
Were there any surprises at the combine, and did you talk to anyone like Rod Wright before you went there? Definitely, I feel like Rod was a key part in this. He talked me through everything. I can look at someone like Huff, but from Rod with everything he went through and being kind of down about it, he just learned so much. He told me what to expect and told me to prepare for the best and the worst. Keeping that mindset keeps me humble and makes me want to keep working.
Is there anything else that has stood about your experience? Just seeing how guys really are. You see how the media portrays them to be, but when you get to know them, they're just like you. They all have one goal in wanting to make it to the NFL. The experience with other people is really the same. Everybody likes to play around and joke around and laugh. That's the main thing that's stood out.
Anything else? Just tell all the Texas fans and the people back home that I miss them, and I'll be back home in March.