That sounds like an amazing idea. Hopefully, timing doesn't cut me off. When I was training speed in December I severly pulled my hammy. No excuses though, I am already back to the grind. I will have to take a look into this and see if any major colleges are doing this. One that comes to mind for me that is semi-close is Iowa. I believe Shonne Greene committed. That being said, each day that goes by and I learn more I get more excited!

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So, instead of starting a new thread I am digging up this old one I created awhile back. First and foremost, thanks again to all of you who reached out with some advice before. I really do appreciate it.
I have made some moves....no success.

I took it upon myself to try to get in touch with some teams and I did this past week. I did everything online as my time is short with work and training. The teams I contacted were the Bears, Colts, Lions, Bucs, and Dolphins. Why those teams? I tried staying the Midwest area for the first 3 because its easy and then just randomly picked two other teams. Nothing special about them. I did not message the Pack because they do not have an online inquiry, and like I said time is short.

Anyways, out of those teams I received one very quick reply from the Chicago Bears and to no surprise, they do not have any tryouts. I was upset with 2 things about the message (in bold) posted and I will explain.

Dear Mr. Yerkes,
Thank you for your email. I'm sorry, but the Bears do not have open tryouts. As you might be aware, our players typically come from major college football programs or other professional teams.
Thanks for being a fan of the Chicago Bears, and good luck with your football career.

Steven Goodwin
Chicago Bears

Alright, first...from this message (and also the St.L Rams FAQ) I get the impression that NFL teams think athletes only come from division 1 and 1-AA programs. Does anyone else feel that after reading? Two, because I messaged your team about try outs, I am a fan of the Chicago Bears?!?!? Haha, please...
I think it is b.s. that a small college player doesn't even get a shot. Sorry for the rant, just thought I would share. I appreciate the Bears getting back to me so quickly though as no other team has done so.

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I don't get why they won't have a single-day open tryout. A little effort which can pay bigtime.

Anyway, I'm sorry that it didn't work out the way you wanted. You still have a chance to get a message from another team. I asume an NFL franchise has a reputation to keep and will contact you. Maybe they're planning walk-on tryouts still?

Talk to your coach at your old college, have him make a couple calls to these pro days, even if your only a filler, you might get noticed by a team, scout or an agent..

You have got to be creative to get that first look.. have an tape of your play in college? Throw it up on youtube.... Send a packet of information to scouting departments, agents and what not..

Yours is an unconventional approach to getting a look.. good luck.

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Yeah, as you guys can see...one letter can really shoot me down. Another thing I took from that is they take players from other professional sports. Although the AFL has shut down for 2009, I was looking to get into that. I feel like with that league I would have a real good chance with getting on a team.

They should be back up and running in 2010. They were really blan about why they were closing down shop and blamed it on the economy. However, my old college coach has a friend coaching for the Orlando team and he said they shut down because the players and owners could not come to meet with the cap.

I will be 25 next year so I am not that worried. My strength is hitting top notch right now and I have lost a good amount of bad weight. So, I am keeping my chin up and moving forward.

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I told you guys I would keep you updated...LOL, so attempt #2.

Hi Sean,

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we do not hold open tryouts. All tryouts are based on invitations only.

Thanks,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It gets more clear every email.

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Suggestion: get into Arena Football and get noticed.

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Yeah, it looks like thats the road I am going to attempt to head down. Gives me a nice 7-9 months to get more prepared since the tryouts dont start happening till october-december.

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Okay, so two months down the road now and I have made some significant improvements. I didn't want to create a whole new thread so I dug this up (hope that is okay mods).
In the two months, I have been working with my strength and conditioning coach (old coach) and hired an agent (a friend). No, friendship will not get in the way of business.
My numbers have grown and I feel a lot better. I remember saying my goal was to get at 260 but I am sitting at 270 right now. It is not a bad 270 though. I have made huge progress on my lower body and this has helped with my speed vvverryyyyy much. My bench max is sitting at 405. I rep out with 315 so as far as having to test on bench, I am not worried.

I found this site...very legit.
Elite Combine 

I looked at the grading chart and right now, defensive end looks very good if my testing went well. Only think I am missing is 1 inch in height. Tight end is more of a reach because of the weight listed, but again...it says you do not have to meet every specific area. Unfortunately, I found this a day late (go figure) and they were in Chicago, about 20 minutes from me on May 31st @ North Central College.
Now I struggle with this because I wonder why I would come across this a day after it happens? My agent, he apologized because well...this is kinda his job. Mistakes happen, I told him not to worry about it, and everything happens for a reason.
Another unfortunate thing, the next combine is this Sunday but I cannot make the cost nor the trip. So, I'm in a bind and a very unpleasant person to be around right now (my fiance gets the wrath). I had a sit down with my agent today and we had a long talk. I will continue to look for tryouts and also wait for ^^^these combines^^^ to come back. I am "only" 24.
I am not old and no where near done.

Height-6"03'
Weight-270
Bench- 225 not tested (maxing 405)
40 time-4.87 (I think I can get lower)

I have these "CHEESEY" quotes in my lifting log but here is what I went with today...some motivation.

"The difference between the impossible and possible lies in a man's determination."

Peace guys.

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AKamp, your determination is inspiring. And I wish you the very best. I'm really happy that you decided to go through with this.

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