Mozes combine diary finale

Former Washington High School football player Dan Mozes is at the NFL Draft Combine this week in Indianapolis.
As part of his daily routine, the All-America center from West Virginia has agreed to write a daily diary of his activities for the Observer-Reporter.

Here’s what Mozes did in his first full day in Indianapolis:

“Today was a really long day. It started at 6 a.m. with breakfast then we got a little time to relax before we went over to the RCA Dome at 8:30 a.m. This was the worst part because they made us strip down to our boxers and they shipped us through like cattle. They took height (6 21⁄2), weight (293 pounds) and had to display flexibility in different ways.

“Then we went onto the turf of the dome and we did flexibility for our shoulders. They made us lay flat on out face with our chin on the ground and lift a broomstick. Then they made us lift it behind our back as well. From there they checked the flexibility in our back, groin, hamstrings. I’m pretty flexible, so I was happy with that part.

“From there we did the 40 (yard dash). A lot of guys there are really fast. I ran a 5.3 which I kind of expected. Down at West Virginia (for the pro day) I’ll probably run a 5.2.

“Then we did position drill. We started with the mirror drill, which you have to do exactly what the person on the opposite side of the line is doing. Then we did pull blocking and pass steps from an angle. I think I did pretty good on that.

“Next it was the broad jump which showed your explosiveness. I jumped 8-6, the best was a 9-9 so I was pretty average there. After that we did the 5-10-5 drill. I thought I was going to do really well in that but I didn’t because they changed the rules. Then we did the three-cone drill which you move around three cones in the shape of an L. I thought I was going to do good there too but I was the first one to go and I didn’t do as well as I wanted to.

“My vertical jump I did just as well as everybody else, though I didn’t get to do the standing reach. I was rushing to make my plane (at 3:10 p.m.) and I didn’t leave (the dome) until 2:30. By the time I got back to the hotel it was 3 p.m. and I knew I wasn’t going to make my plane so I adjusted and tried to get on a 5:55 p.m. flight to Philadelphia. But that got canceled so I tried to make a 4:15 p.m. flight to Philadelphia but that got canceled as well because of the weather. So now I’m stuck here overnight until my 9:45 a.m. flight and I will leave Indy happily because it has been a long, tiresome weekend. Everyday we were up at 5 a.m. and weren’t getting to bed until 11 p.m.

“I was most worried about the 40. I didn’t know what other guys would run. There are some freaks who can run really fast like (Wisconsin’s) Joe Thomas (4.92 seconds) and there are some other guys at the end of the spectrum and then there are a lot in the middle and that’s where I fit in.

“Everyone wants to stand out here and I did OK, but when they put on the game film I think that’s when they’ll see how hard I work. Our pro day is March 8 and hopefully things go well there.”