Joel Weckerly
On its Web site, the National Football League provides a complete list of the 327 players invited to the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis February 22-28. The first name on that list is Corsicana’s own Danieal Manning.
Never mind that the reason is because the list places the players in alphabetical order by college, and “Abilene Christian” happened to be ahead of “Alabama.” For Manning, the desire to join the league has been No. 1 on his list for some time, and his hunger will surely be on display at the RCA Dome this weekend.
It is there that the cream of the crop from around the nation (do Bush, Leinart and Young ring a bell?) convene on one location to dazzle — and sometimes even disappoint — a host of scouts from around the league.
Manning received his golden ticket, if you will, to attend the combine about three weeks ago, following his solid performance in the East-West Shrine Game in San Antonio.
The Combine is his next step toward a lifelong dream that derived long before he dazzled spectators on Tiger Field for three spectacular seasons (1998-2000).
“I don’t believe he’s nervous,” said Manning’s Houston-based agent, Russell Hicks. “He’s prepared, and I’m sure there’s a little nervous energy because of the anticipation. He’s waited for this a long time, and he’s been preparing his whole collegiate career. He’s excited, he’s ready to go.”
Since he declared himself eligible for the draft in late December, Manning’s life has been a whirlwind of hard work and semi-stardom. While working out vigorously for two months with professional trainers in Houston, he has poked his head out for some recognition — whether it was helping his West team win the Shrine Game Jan. 21 on national television or being interviewed on ESPN Radio.
It’s not bad for a guy who played three years as an unknown at a Division II private school in West Texas.
Besides Manning, only eight other Combine invitees hail from non-Division I programs. Only one other — Tarleton State’s Derrick Ross — came out of the Lone Star Conference.
According to Hicks, a combine invitation for Manning was no surprise. The all-American defensive back has been called a first-day draft pick by the bulk of draft gurus, and some NFL team sites — like the Cincinnati Bengals — are putting him in the top 60 picks.
“We anticipated on an invitation, but until you get it in your hand you don’t know,” Hicks said. “But after speaking to enough pro scouts, we knew Danieal had enough of a draftable grade to go to the Combine.”
The combine started Wednesday and runs through Tuesday, but defensive backs like Manning don’t report until Saturday with the linebackers.
His schedule will be non-stop from the time he arrives until the time he leaves on Tuesday.
After arriving in Indianapolis, Manning will go through pre-exam X-rays and then on to Cybex machine training. He’ll have orientation from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, then interviews with NFL scouts from 8 to 11 p.m.
On Sunday morning he’ll get measured and weighed starting at 7:35 a.m., then take a Wonderlic test and video interviews for the remainder of the morning. After lunch he’ll go through the weightroom for repetitions until about 5 p.m., then undergo more interviews from 7 to 11.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday he’ll have psychological testing, capped off with interviews from 6 to 9 p.m.
Tuesday morning features the drills and timings that made Maurice Clarett so infamous a year ago. After the workout concludes in the afternoon, the NFL prospects depart from the RCA Dome, left to await their fate in the league.
According to Hicks, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Manning is expected to clock in at the 40-yard dash with a time ranging from 4.45 to 4.25 seconds — almost unheard of for a player over 200 pounds.
“God willing and if everything goes well, he should be able to maximize his 40 time,” Hicks said.
Hicks said Manning’s training tapered off slightly this week, allowing his body to recover and repair itself to be in top-notch shape for the Combine.
“He hasn’t been pushing himself too hard this week,” Hicks said. “When they start to test on Saturday, he’ll be ready.”
NOTES: The NFL Draft is set for April 29-30 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, but don’t expect Manning to try on a team hat there. Manning will spend those two days in Corsicana, watching the draft with his family, friends and agent.
—————
Joel Weckerly may be contacted via e-mail at jweckerly@corsicanadailysun.com
