Hoping to Make Grade in the NFL, McNown Drops Out

Facing a critical three-month period that will determine whether his NFL ambitions rise or fall, quarterback Cade McNown has left UCLA to focus on selling himself to NFL scouts.

Since Jan. 4, three days after UCLA’s 38-31 defeat to Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, McNown has been based in Bradenton, Fla., and engaged in full-time training sessions at the International Performance Institute on the grounds of the Bollettieri Sports Academy.

McNown’s agent, Tom Condon of International Management Group, hired veteran NFL assistant Larry Kennan to serve as McNown’s private quarterback coach in Florida.

“The whole thing is we want to get Cade as ready as possible for the combine, then spring training,” said Chris Ciaccio, assistant director of the Performance Institute.

McNown left Bradenton last weekend to begin workouts for the Senior Bowl on Saturday in Mobile, Ala., then is expected to return to the institute to prepare for the NFL combine Feb. 18-22 in Indianapolis and the NFL draft April 17-18.

Marc Dellins, a UCLA spokesman, said McNown is not enrolled in the winter quarter but indicated it was “certainly possible” McNown could return for the spring quarter that begins April 5.

McNown is so focused on NFL preparation that he declined to play in last weekend’s East-West Shrine Classic even though UCLA Coach Bob Toledo was an assistant for the West team. McNown decided to play in only one all-star game, the Senior Bowl, an NFL production.

McNown’s decision to devote full attention to the draft and put his studies on hold is part of a growing trend among potential draft picks because of increasing time demands, Newport Beach-based agent Leigh Steinberg said.

“The second season of scouting following the regular season has become so expansive that it makes it difficult to excel in scouting [workouts] while maintaining academic progress,” Steinberg said. “If the difference in a player being No. 27 instead of No. 2 [in the draft] is a $10-million signing bonus, players reason they can finish the quarter later.”

Another player who has left school to prepare for the draft is quarterback Tim Couch of Kentucky. But two USC players--linebacker Chris Claiborne and defensive back Daylon McCutcheon--remain enrolled for the spring semester.

Much is at stake for McNown, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting but is considered a borderline first-round draft pick because of questions regarding his size and arm strength.

At the performance institute, close to a dozen football players train six days a week with a series of workouts designed as a mini-combine under the guidance of trainers and coaches.

“We’re trying to get them prepared physically and mentally,” said Mark Verstegen, the institute’s director. “We want them to perform real well.”

There is a custom-built weight room and 30,000-square-foot domed facility with a 70-yard synthetic grass running surface for players to work on improving strength, agility and speed. They watch videotape of workouts and learn about nutrition.

“We teach them what it’s like to be a professional athlete,” Verstegen said.

A representative for McNown said the 22-year-old wanted to devote full attention to his NFL preparation and declined comment.