WHAT A WEEK!
NAPLES
Feb. 21 (Monday). The week starts off great! One last hard workout before I start cooling down before the combine. 40 yd. dash, 3 cone, shuttle, LB Drills, DL Drills, bench, broad and vertical . . . DONE! Everything looks great and I feel that I'm ready!
Feb. 22 & 23 (FALSE ALARM). I wake up with a rush of excitement . . . time to head to Indy!! Wait a second . . . not quite. I relax a bit and realize that it's still days away until I have to head that way. Get in a light workout-a few 40 yd. starts and some cool downs. The rest of the day I have to myself. I catch on some much needed rest and get my body ready for what it was going to happen the weekend coming up. Wednesday is unlike any other day I have had since being in Naples: nothing to do but eat and watch TV all day.
Feb. 24 (Thursday). The day before I leave. I pack all my things to send back home, and pack my bag for Indy. The rest of the day I focus on what I need to do there to better myself as a player. I end up at a local school and walk through all my drills, starts, and jumps.
INDY
Feb. 25 (Friday, DAY ONE). After a slow start to the day with a four-hour flight delay, I arrive in Indy and meet up with three other guys I trained with that also will be joining me in the combine. As I get to the hotel I see a lot of other players (all players stay in the same hotel).
We get our information packets . . . everything is planned out for us . . . all we have to do is just show up when and where.
This first day we have welcome meetings, dinner, and medical history review.
Feb. 26 (Saturday, DAY TWO). Day two was a long day with drug testing and weigh in. I was ready to show everyone my weight because I weighed in very light at the East-West Shrine due to being sick with the flu. My name was called . . . 6'1" and some change. Weight 248 lbs. SOUNDS good to me. Then lunch, medical reviews by all the teams and interviews during the night time.
Feb. 27 (Sunday, DAY THREE). Day three had to be one of my easier days seeing that all we had was our bench test (225 lbs. rep) followed by last day of meetings. As I warm up for my bench test the only thought going on in my head is "JUST GO TIL I CANT NO MORE" 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, . . . 20 . . . 21 . . . 2- . . . ? 21 it is. Not my best but I'm still happy. Now on to meetings for the rest of the night. Before 9 pm I'm in a hurry to get into bed and get a great night of sleep before the MAIN day starts.
NOW, what you all have been waiting for "game day" the day we do all our testing, all the hard work all the time and energy I have put forth will now show!
Feb. 28 (Monday, DAY FOUR - GAME DAY). It's here, I'M HERE! I walk on to the field and it all hits me at once. My heart starts racing . . . I start getting excited as I begin warm-ups. I find myself in my zone. During measurements I know it is going to be a great day. Warm up gets a nice sweat going before our first event.
NUMBERS
Broad: 10'9"
Vertical: 42"
40: 4.4 seconds
3-cone: 7.0 seconds
Short Shuttle: 4.3 seconds
Bench: 21 reps
Weight: 248 lbs.
Height: 6'1
First, Broad Jump. Off in the air, it feels like I'm in the air for a split second. Second jump is 10'9" and I'm excited to run to my next events. After my 42" Vert, a huge smile comes to my face and I sit down so that I won't get overexcited for my 40 yard dash.
40-Yard Dash. After a few full speed starts to feel comfortable with the turf and envisioning myself running, I line up and tell myself: "I'm ready. It's my time. Let's do it." Great start. I get off the line the way I planned, the way I trained. Then my mind goes blank and the 40 is over very fast. Good thing or bad thing? For sure a good thing. After running again, I felt good but was it good enough? We do not find out times until the end of everything. Not knowing what I ran had my mind thinking.
Last are the drills, bags, wave run, ball drills, short shuttle, and three cone. Although I could have caught a couple more passes, I feel good about them .
Overall, it was definitely a good showing. I'm never satisfied but this combine was all about competing and turning some heads. It definitely got my name out there to those that didn't know and gave better information to those that did know. Now I'm just ready to play.
MEDIA WHIRLWIND
Since the combine it's been busy but enjoyable. ESPN First Take on Tuesday. Local Reno media. And the rest continues.
Thank you all for your support and your time. Pro day in Nevada, Reno on March 22.
Remember follow me on Twitter @DontayMoch and on my Facebook Fan Page Dontay Moch
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Defensive lineman Dontay Moch of Nevada runs a drill during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 28, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)