ESPN NFL Draft 2008

Beginning Wednesday, more than 300 NFL hopefuls will participate in the invite-only NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

There, front office personnel, scouts and coaching staffs from all 32 teams will evaluate these large, fast, mean pro football applicants over what essentially amounts to one week-long, unusually nerve-jangling job interview. Excel, and become a millionaire. Perform poorly, and it's time to get fitted for that Home Depot apron.

No one appreciates the power of this pressure-packed, all-important circus like Mario Williams, perhaps the biggest story to emerge from the combine in recent years. Back in '06, the North Carolina State defensive end was a talented athlete whose game left many football types scratching their heads.

Why did Williams net a mere 11 sacks over his final 23 games? Why did this All-ACC pass-rusher -- who had 10 of his 14½ sacks in '05 in just three games -- tally a sack in only 16 of his 36 overall appearances for the Wolfpack

Oh, and why on God's green turf did the Houston Texans select Williams first overall in the '06 draft, ahead of Heisman winner Reggie Bush and hometown hero Vince Young? One headline declared the decision to be a "Texans-sized blunder." Others weren't as kind.

But in Williams, Texans general manager Charley Casserly and coach Gary Kubiak saw what most could not (in fact, what most were prohibited from seeing, as the combine is closed to the public): a 6-foot-7, 291-pounder who clocked an impressive 4.66 seconds in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 10-foot broad jump, a 40.5-inch vertical leap and 35 reps in the 225-pound bench press. They also saw a personable, driven, humble, yet confident young man nail one very crucial interview.

Today, Houston has reason to celebrate. Its top pick recorded 14 sacks, 59 tackles, two forced fumbles and a touchdown in a Pro Bowl-worthy '07 campaign. Meanwhile, Bush's career 3.7 yards per carry and Young's 69.0 career passer rating leave much to be desired. At this juncture, it seems the Texans made the right call. And they made that call based on what they witnessed over a few long days in February.

Williams recently took some time to share his combine game plan, tips and hard-learned lessons to help prepare the latest batch of combine-bound gridders for what will be the most important week in their professional lives. No pressure, though. (That's in his tips, too.)

You need to prepare for the combine …

"A lot of places can help you get ready. I picked [Athletic Performance Institute's] training program. They basically have you do the combine drills, every day, twice a day, for 90 minutes each session. It's a lot of work, but it got me prepared. I actually think the details are classified because they don't want their secrets out. What happens at API stays in API."

… and focus on position-specific drills
"Everyone says that the most important thing for a D-lineman at the combine is the 10-yard split. That's because there's 10 yards between you and the QB. So at API, we worked on stuff like takeoffs, having proper strides, opening up whenever you come up out your stance and getting the right angle, which is a 45-degree angle when we launch out. It's supposed to be the optimum takeoff. We do it over and over and over again."

At the combine, speed kills

"For a D-lineman, it's all about being explosive in what you do and have some type of coordination at the same time. You basically need to be quick and efficient, whether you're doing the bag drills or whatever. The key thing was the 10-yards splits. But what might have clinched it for me was the 40-yard dash, which is the specialty of the running backs, defensive backs, wide receivers. Speed is important at every position now."

See that wire? Run through it

"The first time I ran the 40-yard dash, I got a 4.7 something. I was really mad because I stopped before the finish line. They said, 'There's a wire there, so run through it.' But my adrenaline was pumping so much that I forgot about the wire. I stopped like 2 yards short! The second time, I got a 4.6, so that was pretty good. That helped me out."

Individual drills are the wild card. Stay focused

"After the bench press and vertical leap and dash, next come the individual drills. And that was the worst thing that I did. I wasn't sure what they were going to make me do. We had to turn the corner and things like that, swat-rips, where you swat the hand. Simple stuff, but we're almost done, so you're nervous with anticipation."

Forget the competition …

"There are a lot of guys there, but you can't really pay attention to what the other players are doing, because you're not really competing. It's just you and the clock, or whatever. People were wondering whether Reggie Bush would go No. 1, but it's not like I was worried about Reggie's times."

… and forget sleep, too
"People think it's all about the drills at the combine, but those are long days. Depending on what group you're in -- the bigs, or the linebackers and tight ends, or the speed positions -- you might have the early shift, so they wake you up with a 5 a.m. wake-up call. Then they keep you until midnight doing a whole bunch of interviews. It was drawn out. You had to suck it up for a few days. There were a lot of people complaining about it."

The interviews are paramount …

"The most important thing for me was the interviews. It's a big piece of the puzzle. A lot of times when you're having those interviews at the combine, you forget you're dealing with people. You need to try to be approachable, be likeable. You'd be surprised, but a lot of players can't do that. I heard people say how, 'So-and-so is a heckuva athlete, but he doesn't know how to speak to people.' So I just tried to relax, be myself and use common sense."

… and unpredictable "You never know who you'll meet with. It could be one personnel guy or the entire front office. I met with some big names. Of course, they're all big to me. But Al Davis was a big one. He was wearing his sweats, but he wasn't strange at all. He was really laid back. But with so many big names, you get nervous. I was most nervous when I met the Texans. They had the first pick, and they were nitpicking. Everything was so precise, I felt like I had to say just the right thing. What made that tougher was at the same time, the Texans had to split the room with the Broncos. Sometimes you need to share time because there are so many players and teams."

… and mind-numbing, too "The stupidest question I got was from the Broncos' head coach [Mike Shanahan]. He comes out and asks me if I'm tough. I'm thinking, 'Man, that's the dumbest question anyone's ever asked me.' But I said, 'Hell yeah, I'm tough.' What am I supposed to say?

Sometimes, it's best to avoid other workouts

"Beyond the combine, you can do private workouts for teams or the college pro day workouts at your school. That's more for the people on the bubble trying to make a name. I really didn't want to do anything other than the combine. I did well there, so I didn't want to mess with it because a mistake can hurt you. And nobody really wanted one because I'd proven my worth. There was no questioning what I can do."

Then, wait by the phone

"Right after the combine, if the NFL thinks you're going in the top 10, they'll call you to come to New York for the draft. They called my agent, then my agent called me, then the guys who were setting up the draft called me. Then I think even Paul Tagliabue called me. I can't remember. I was so excited."

Sam Alipour is based in Los Angeles. His Media Blitz column appears in ESPN The Magazine and regularly on Page 2. You can reach him at sam.alipour@gmail.com.