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Practice makes perfect: College all-stars begin to take the field
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
There's a certain connotation that comes with an all-star game.
One of reward and relaxation as players celebrate their achievements by squaring off in a unique collaboration of the best a sport has to offer.
On paper, Texas vs. The Nation is a collegiate all-star game bringing together graduating seniors with half assigned to defend a territory against players from the rest of the country. However, with practice commencing Tuesday, there was anything but a traditional all-star vibe in the build to Saturday's 1:30 p.m. kickoff from Eagle Stadium.
There's no time for relaxation because this isn't an all-star game for celebrating accomplishment but one auditioning for the NFL.
Tuesday's practice was indicative of that.
"These practices are going to be pretty high intensity," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach and Texas running backs coach. "Because this is basically like a job interview."
Team Texas took the field first to introduce the basics of what to expect in Saturday's game. There was lots of learning on the fly for the players and rapid-fire assessment for the coaches. Separating the strong from the weak came early with a series of positional drills that steadily increased in difficulty and intensity. Starting with individual exercises that ranged from defensive backs backpedaling to receivers bagging passes from quarterbacks, the pace was ratcheted up 40 minutes in when the offensive and defensive linemen plus the receivers and defensive backs were put in opposition.
Despite being teammates, the gamesmanship in players attempting to outduel their fellow prospects was plenty evident with the stadium stands clad in NFL scouts.
"Every level you go up, the players get faster," Epstein said. "They're fast, strong guys and you have to move and react faster, but it's much more fun."
Look no further than Allen alum and Texas A&M senior Uzoma Nwachukwu, who slipped on a cut and had an incoming pass picked off by Coppell alum and Wisconsin senior Devin Smith, only for the former Eagle to return the favor on their next matchup by beating Smith for a deep ball.
"This is a very important week," Nwachukwu said. "It's like I'm the CEO of my own business; which means I need to take care of my product by playing as hard as I can and being on my best behavior, and hopefully those things show through."
It's nothing these players haven't experienced before.
"That's something we had to practice with at college," said Skye Dawson, TCU senior and Mesquite native. "There were scouts there all the time too and scouts at our games. I think the intensity is exactly the same."
With three-quarters of practice in the books, both units convened for a series of 11-on-11 plays, albeit with the physicality at a price.
"It's basic football," said Bill Bates, Texas head coach. "Cover three, cover one, no blitzing; a lot of things that you can't do that you'd like to do. It goes to show you that this game is for the players and we have to put them in a position to succeed."
The teams ran plays as preliminary installation of the offenses and defenses began.
"Everyone's so accustomed to their own offense and defense, which makes it real hard to get everyone on the same page in three days," Epstein said. "But we have a great coaching staff and they're putting in some really good stuff that everyone can get on board with."
It was a day for getting the players' feet wet -- something that took on a literal meaning when rain soaked Team Nation's ensuing practice.
On-field duties are just part of the equation though, with additional time spent meeting coaches and talking with scouts. There are also a series of psychological and intelligence tests for the players, including the Wonderlic Test, which several players took Monday.
"It felt similar to the SAT," Dawson said. "It starts with some easy questions and then gets harder after a while. I didn't think it was too bad, though."
It's all toward a unified goal: proving these players can not only take care of business Saturday, but assuring that game is just one of many more to come.
"I want to prove that no matter what my size is, I can make plays," Dawson said. "That's my goal in this game."
"I only got one year to start, so I'm relatively unknown among these scouts," Epstein added. "I don't think a lot of people know who I am or maybe think I'm too small, but I want to show them that I'm the hardest worker out there; no one's going to be more intense and no one's going to outwork me."
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