The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
NFL Draft Q&A with Kasey Studdard
04.13.2007 | Football
What kind of training have you done since the Alamo Bowl? I started training January 3rd and went out to Denver to train at Velocity. I wanted to train in my hometown and have worked with that guy throughout school, so that's who I wanted to train with.
What was your main focus during training? Main focus was losing body fat and getting more lean muscle mass. Focusing on strength and speed, and making sure that my body is firing on all cylinders. I've been working on getting better at position drills and then on preparing for what I was going to do at the combine.
Does it seem odd to have been out of pads so long? This is about as long as I've been out of pads in about eight years, so it's been a long time. I can't wait to get back out there; I'm really excited about the draft and I hope that I get picked up somewhere. I just can't wait for that. I do lift a little harder now though, as a release if nothing else. Putting on the pads and hitting is a good stress reliever and I've been missing that lately.
How was your experience at the combine? I would call the combine a mental marathon. It's much more mental than some people realize - question after question and meetings. You get up early, and they don't let you go to bed until late. The teams just want to see how you adjust to adversity.
I knew going in that the combine was going to be just as mentally difficult as it was going to be physically challenging. It's not that the physical tests weren't difficult. I felt like I had played a game after I was done, but there are three days of meetings and interviews and just one day of physical testing, so there is an emphasis on the mental side of the combine.
How did that compare with Pro Timing Day at Texas? Our coaches organize that event well for us and make sure that everything runs smoothly. I think the event went really well. The intensity was the same as the combine, but it obviously wasn't as long of an event. It's also a much more comfortable environment, with all of your old teammates watching, so you have that support.
Have any teams shown special interest? I have a visit with Cleveland. I've had a lot of email contacts, but they're just emails that say, "We're interested." As of right now, I don't have a clue as to where I'm going to end up. There is a lot of interest, but there is a lot of uncertainty with it. A lot of people I have been talking to say that you usually go to a team that you don't actually talk to before the draft.
What kind of plans do you have for draft day? I'll be back in Denver at my mom's house. We'll sit and watch the draft there.
Has anyone been especially helpful to you in preparing for the draft? My trainer has been very helpful, so I have to recognize that, also, Justin Blalock and Lyle Sendlein. I talk to them, see what they're doing to prepare and we check up on each other. They make sure I'm working hard, and I make sure they're doing what they need to do. We're all working hard so we can make it out there and live our dream.
