Players Ready to Be Checked Out

Kentucky’s Mike Pfeifer arrived Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine, the annual “Miss America” contest for prospective draftees, without a good pair of legs.

The first group of about 340 seniors began arriving Wednesday for three days of drills, physicals and interviews with NFL scouts and coaches. Linemen and kickers were the first to arrive. Linebackers and tight ends are due on Thursday with quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs checking in on Friday.

Included in the workouts are weight lifting (repetitions with 225 pounds), flexibility drills, 40-yard dashes and other measured runs designed to demonstrate a player’s explosiveness, acceleration and raw speed.

Pfeifer, a 6-foot-7, 305-pound offensive tackle from Louisville, was on crutches as he moved with the other linemen hoping to impress the scouts.

“I’ve prepared for this for eight weeks. I knew about that I’d be on crutches,” said Pfeifer, who received a stress fracture to his right foot in a mid-season game against Louisiana State and still managed to earn All-Southeastern Conference honors while starting 10 of 11 games.

“I played the entire season with it. On turf, it didn’t bother me. On grass, it did affect how I played,” said Pfeifer, who turned down invitations to postseason all-star games to allow the fracture to heal.

“I’m going to take the physicals here. Physically, I feel fine. As far as my overall feeling, my whole body hasn’t felt this good for a long time.

Pfeifer realizes what’s at stake.

“These few days are like a Miss America contest for us. They take our measurements and decide our potential,” Pfeifer said. “I just hope the NFL people saw enough of my ability in college to be interested in me.I should be fine in another week. Then they can come to Lexington and test me, or I’d be willing to go anywhere I’m asked,” Pfeifer said.

Injuries are nothing new to Pfeifer, who missed six games in 1988 after reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

“That injury is history. The doctors that fixed me up did a great job and there isn’t anything that I can’t do with the knee that I couldn’t do before the injury,” he said. “They can test it any way they want and I’ll be fine.”

For players who didn’t get a lot of publicity in college or didn’t play at high-profile schools, a good showing at the combine is vital.

“This is the most important time of my life, for my future in the NFL,” said nose guard Tory Epps of Memphis State. “All the things you do in the season don’t count now ... This is your change to move up ahead of other players, those that might have a bigger reputation.”

Epps also had physical problems this year, but still shared the team lead with 44 unassisted tackles.

“I missed the last four games with blood clots in my arm,” he said. “But I played in All-Star games since then and I think I helped myself.”

The 6-1, 270-pound nose guard from Uniontown, Pa., is optimistic.

“It’s on the line for me now. I’d rather be out on the field playing to show what I can do, but this is the way the NFL does it ... It’s like a beauty contest. I just want to perform to meet their expectations. I’ve worked hard to prepare myself.”

“This is a very important period for these players,” said Jack Bushofsky, director of player personnel for the Indianapolis Colts. “It gets the players together as a group so you can compare them physically on the field. It saves them a lot of wear and tear and it saves teams from having to get out and travel around the country to look at the incoming rookies.”