Each year, some of the top NFL draft prospects spend at least six weeks at training facilities such as Athletes Performance in Tempe, Ariz., and Competitive Edge Sports in Atlanta preparing for the scouting combine and their subsequent pro days.
When Tom Shaw and Chip Smith launched a training facility in the early 1990s, it was a revolutionary idea. Now, you can find facilities across the nation devoted to helping athletes prepare for the draft.
Albert Breer has a story in today's Dallas Morning News about the Michael Johnson Performance Center. The 26,000 square-foot facility is located in McKinney, Texas, and Johnson's six-week program is $18,000 per player. In its first year of existence, the program recruited Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. And I'm sure McFadden's 4.27 in the 40-yard dash might end up on a pamphlet for the center at some point. Like perhaps 10 minutes after McFadden finished his 40.
OK, I'm working the phones the rest of the day. We'll come out firing tomorrow.
