2009 NFL Draft
This weekend was another great weekend for the Parisi NFL Combine Training Program. Our program had 10 selected and we are very excited for these athletes to make the jump to the next level. Numerous of our athletes were said to have enhanced their draft status (Williams, Butler, Sidbury, Peerman) on the official coverage on the NFL Network yesterday. That is a great testament to the fact that hard work does still pay off. Interestingly, our first pick of the year, Jason Williams did not even go to the NFL Combine, but his pro day numbers (4.4 in the 40 yard dash) shocked the scouts into getting him drafted early. Quinten Lawrence is another success story in that he was not able to run at the combine due to an ankle injury sustained during the season but also ran 4.40 in the 40 to gain his sport among the chosen few selected in this weekend's draft.
It is also of note that 5 of our 10 draft picks came from smaller, lesser known schools. This made their chances even harder to get drafted, yet with their impressive numbers, they made their presence known to the NFL scouts and garnered a draftable status.
Congratulations again to all our athletes this year and we look forward to seeing them on Sundays soon.
Below is a review of the round, pick, school and team that the athlete was chosen to represent:
3rd Round
69th pick Jason Williams Western Illinois Dallas Cowboys
91st pick Deon Butler Penn State Seattle Seahawks
4th round
106th pick Jonathan Luigs Arkansas Cincinnati Bengals
125th pick Lawrence Sidbury Richmond Altanta Falcons
5th Round
150th pick Jasper Brinkley South Carolina Minnesota Vikings
6th Round
175th pick Quinten Lawrence McNeese St. Kansas City Chiefs
185th pick Cedric Peerman Virginia Baltimore Ravens
208th pick John Phillips Virginia Dallas Cowboys
7th Round
212th pick Javarris Williams Tennessee State Kansas City Chiefs
241st pick David Johnson Arkansas State Pittsburgh Steelers
Our guest over the past 6 weeks has been Martelius Epps, a collegiate college football player, whose getting ready for his pro day at Stephen F Austin, Tx. this coming Monday. So far Martelius has been very impresive with his ability to literally put on a show with his 40 yd yard dash, 20 yard shuttle, 3-cone, vertical leap, broad jump, and bench max reps. I can't give the specific times, however I can tell you he would have been extremely competitve with this years NFL combine defensive back best. He has improved dramatically in all events and we are very excited to see what he'll do in front of the scouts this coming Monday!!!
This was another amazing year for the Parisi NFL Combine Program. This year, we had a smaller group than in years past which really put the pressure on the Parisi Team to produce and prove that it is still one of, if not the top NFL Combine prep program in the country.
Our 12 athletes represented and came back with a number of individual titles and top placings according to the "official" results on the NFL.com site. Here is a comprehensive list so far of the results from the group.
2009 Highlights Fourth Fastest 40 yard dash overall athletes at Combine: Deion Butler Penn State, 4.38 Fastest Defensive Lineman Overall: Lawrence Sidbury Fastest Running Back: Cedric Peerman Virginia 4.45 Fastest Defensive End: Lawrence Sidbury Richmond 4.64 Fastest Center: Jonathan Luigs Arkansas 5.14 Fastest L Drill for Tight Ends: Jonathan Phillips Virginia 6.84 Highest Vertical Jump for Center: Jonathan Luigs Arkansas 31" Highest Vertical Jump for Inside Linebackers: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 35.5" Second Highest Vertical for RB: Cedric Peerman Virginia 40 inches Second Best Bench for RB: Cedric Peerman Virginia 27 reps Second Best Bench for Inside Linebackers: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 26 reps Second Highest Vertical for LBs overall: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 35.5" Third Fastest Running Back: Kory Sheets Purdue 4.47 Third Fastest Inside Linebacker: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 4.72 Third Best Bench for WR: Greg Orton Purdue 22 reps Third Fastest 5/10/5 for Tight Ends: Jonathan Phillips Virginia 4.27 Third Fastest 60 yard shuttle for WR: Deion Butler Penn State 11.32 Third Best 5/10/5 for ILB: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 4.32 Third Best Bench for Inside Linebackers: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 26 reps Third Fastest 60 yard shuttle for TE: Jonathan Phillips Virginia 11.77 Fourth Fastest Wide Receiver: Deion Butler Penn State 4.38 Fourth Fastest L Drill for ILB: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 7.03 Fourth Farthest Broad Jump for all DL: Lawrence Sidbury Richmond 10’ Fourth Highest Bench for WR: Quentin Lawrence McNeese St. 20 reps Fourth Highest Vertical for TE: Jonathan Phillips Virginia 33.5" Fourth Farthest Broad Jump for WR: Greg Orton 10’5" Fourth Highest Bench for RB: Javarris Williams Tennessee State 25 reps Fourth Farther Broad Jump for RB: Kory Sheets Purdue 10’1 5th Fastest 60 yard shuttle for RB: Kory Sheets Purdue 11.70 5th Highest Vertical for RB: Kory Sheets Purdue 37" 6th Farthest Broad Jump for QB: Drew Willy Buffalo 9’1 6th Fastest Tight End: David Johnson Arkansas State 4.73 6th Highest Bench Press for Tight End: David Johnson Arkansas State 21 reps 6th Fastest Running Back: Javarris Williams Tennesee State 4.52 6th Fastest Linebacker Overall: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 4.72 6th Fastest L Drill for Linebackers overall: Jasper Brinkley South Carolina 7.02 6th Highest Vertical for WR: Greg Orton Purdue 38" 7th Fastest Quarterback: Drew Willy Buffalo 4.90 7th Highest Vertical for QB: Drew Willy Buffalo 30.5" 7th Fastest 5/10/5 for all Defensive Lineman: Lawrence Sidbury Richmond 4.43 7th Fastest 5/10/5 for TE: David Johnson Arkansas State 4.43 10 of 12 of our athletes placed top 4 or higher at their position in one or more events! All 12 placed top 6 or higher in one or more events! Very impressive for only having 12 athletes out of 350! This was an amazing year and we thank the athletes for their dedication and follow through. We now look forward to the draft in late April and a chance to see how our athletes improved their stock! Martin
I receive a number of emails almost weekly from people asking me how I have been able to do the things in my life that I have done. Although I do not consider myself any smarter or any more gifted than anyone else out there, I tell people that I have used great discipline while following a number of simple formulas that have served me well in getting what I wanted. I am going to start this blog off with a riddle that I use with most of my athletes at one time or another to lead us in to one such formula:
There are three warriors standing at the edge of a river. Two of the warriors decide to jump into the water. The question is, "How many warriors are now standing at the edge of the river?"
Many of my athletes immediately answer that there is only one warrior left on the riverbank. This is not only the wrong answer, but it clues me in a bit on how the athletes that answer incorrectly think.
The answer is "3". Just because a someone has made a decision does not mean that he has taken any action to do anything about it! All too often we "decide" to go on a diet or lose some body fat yet dont get any thinner. We commonly "decide" that it is time to get back into the gym or onto the mats, but never end up getting there. We "decide" what our New Year's resolutions are going to be only to break them days later. What was the missing ingredient to getting what you want? The "action" that goes along with the decision! Is it really that simple? Yes, I am here to tell all you warriors that it really is.
Here is a great formula to remember: D-A=0 (Decision minus Action equals Zero)
Now although the part of action may seem critical here (and it is), I have often found that people also commonly lack the ability to even make a decision about what it is they really want in the first place! So, I am here to remind all of you that you cant get what you want if you have never decided what that is in the first place! Now although that may sound crazy on the surface, ask yourself if you have really figured out your life's purpose and have also really sat down and spent time figuring what it really is that you want (and I am not talking about "I want money", "I want to be fit", or "I want a nice house or car", I am talking about specifics!)
If you havent really ever sat down and come up with your definitive list of wants from life, my mental warrior challenge this week is to spend one hour each day this week doing just that. Although you may think that 5-7 hours focused on your wants is crazy, I believe it is simply the best investment in time you could make. You must also write these down each night and watch how they change and get deeper as you better start to understand what it is you are really searching for.
The second challenge is to be performed next week and that is breaking down each want into the smallest action step you can to move toward that goal and then take that step! I promise that if you follow through on these two challenges you will be much closer to getting what you want than if you choose to ignore them.
Decision plus Action is a simple formula. What I am writing to remind you warriors is that the formula works only as long as you work the formula! Now get to work.
The 2008 NFL Draft was another fantastic event for the Parisi Speed School. On the first day of the event, Chris Long, son of Hall of Famer Howie Long became the Parisi Combine Program's highest selection ever with the #2 overall pick. Chris joined Dunta Robinson (#10 overall pick in 2004) of the Houston Texans as the second top 10 pick for the program. Other past first rounders of the program are Bryan Thomas 2002, Michael Haynes 2003, Matt Jones 2005, Fabian Washington 2005, Jonathan Joseph 2006, and Tamba Hali, 2006.
This was also a special year in that it is only the second time that the Parisi Program has had at least one athlete selected in all 7 rounds of the NFL Draft. The Parisi Combine Program saw 14 of its athletes selected in 2008 bringing the program's all-time total to 117 draft picks since 2001.
The Parisi program prides itself on increasing the draft stock of their athletes. Known as a "meat and potatoes" program, Parisi's has consistently had athletes drafted higher than their pre draft grades as a result of their incredible NFL Combine performances. This year, Arman Shields of Richmond only played in one game as a senior due to a knee injury. But after recording a 4.37 in the 40 yard dash and having the fastest 20 and 60 yard shuttles at the entire combine, the Oakland Raiders took Arman in the 4th round of this year's draft. Ray Rice also answered questions about his speed and by recording a 4.42 in the 40 at the combine and having the second fastest 3 cone drill of the entire combine at 6.65, the Baltimore Ravens selected the star running back from Rutgers in the 2nd round at the 55th pick overall. Dre Moore, who was the fastest defensive tackle at the entire combine (4.84 at 305 pounds!) was selected in the fourth round and Cliff Avril of Purdue shocked the crowd with a 4.51 at 253 pounds in the 40 and got himself drafted this weekend in the third round and 92nd pick overall. Perhaps the biggest success story out of Parisi's program this year is about Jerome Simpson of small-school Coastal Carolina. Coming from a program that was only 5 years old, Jerome had a lot to prove at the NFL Combine. By running a 4.42 in the 40 yard dash and setting the all-time record in the broad jump at 11'4 inches, he answered those questions and more. Jerome was selected as the 46th pick overall by the Cinncinnati Bengals in the 2nd round.
Here is a list of the athletes drafted this year out of the Parisi Program:
Chris Long, Virginia,
#2 pick of the first round to the St. Louis Rams
Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina,
#46 pick overall in second round to Cincinnati Bengals
Ray Rice, Rutgers,
#55 pick overall in second round to Baltimore Ravens
Cliff Avril, Purdue,
#92 pick overall in the third round to Detroit Lions
Oniel Cousins, UTEP,
#99 pick overall in the third round to Baltimore Ravens
Dre Moore , Maryland ,
#115 pick overall in the fourth round to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Arman Shields, Richmond,
#125 pick overall in the fourth round to Oakland Raiders
Jonathan Wilhite, Auburn,
#129 pick overall in the fourth round to New England Patriots
Breno Giacomini, Louisville,
#150 pick overall of the fifth round to Green Bay Packers
Carl Nicks, Nebraska,
#164 pick overall of the fifth round to New Orleans Saints
Athyba Rubin , Iowa State,
#190 pick overall of the sixth round to Cleveland Browns
Joe Mays, North Dakota State,
#220 pick overall of the sixth round to Philadelphia Eagles
King Dunlap, Auburn,
#230 pick overall of the seventh round to Philadelphia Eagles
Jamey Richard, Buffalo,
#236 pick overall of the seventh round to Indianapolis Colts
Over the past 8 years, The Parisi School has been the nation’s authority in preparing college football players for the NFL Combine. We have produced the fastest 40 yard dash at 10 different positions, including the overall fastest man at the 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Combine & the 3 rd fastest man at the 2002, 2004 and 2006 Combine. Over this span, the school has produced 32 individual 1 st , 2 nd , or 3 rd place finishers overall in the contested events at the NFL Combine! Our athletes have also shattered six all-time Combine records in the 20 and 60 yard shuttles and the 3 cone drill, and have won individual events besides the 40 yard dash at 10 different positions. These impressive results have helped 117 of the players we have trained to get drafted over the past eight years. Simply put, when you train at the Parisi Speed School, you get RESULTS!
I have to say it could be argued that this might have been our best year ever (and from the past 7 years of results, that is saying a lot!).
Here is a quick overall rundown when including all of the 330+ athletes at the NFL Combine at once (we sent 20). When all the dust settled, we had:
#1 20 yard shuttle overall Arman Shields WR 3.96
#1 All Time Broad Jump record Jerome Simpson WR 11'4
#1 60 yard shuttle overall Arman Shields WR 10.87 *(only athlete to run under 11 seconds)
#2 L Drill Overall Ray Rice RB 6.65
#2 Bench Press Overall Ahtyba Rubin DT 35 reps
#3 L Drill Overall Arman Shields WR 6.67
#4 Highest Verts Jerome Simpson and Arman Shields at 37.5"
We also had another 2 athletes run in the 4.3s (which brings our programs total to 16) with Michael Grant CB 4.37 and Jonathan Wilhite CB 4.38!
I would say overall that when you compare all the numbers of every one of the 330 athletes at the combine and we placed not only top 10 but as high as we did in every event contested, it is saying something again about the ability of our program to produce. The fact I dont get to pick out any of our athletes makes the stats even more ridiculous.
Another big thing I was pumped about is that 14 of our athletes (we only had 20) did 20 reps or more in bench! That included a RB (Ray Rice), WR (Joe West), and CB (Jonathan Wilhite) too (for the first time), and we had 3 athletes over 30 reps (for the first time)with Carl Nicks 31, Dre Moore 31 and Ahtyba Rubin at 35.
Not to leave out our guys interposition, Cliff Avril won the L drill for all D lineman with a 6.90 and Chris Long won the 20 yard shuttle for all D lineman with a 4.20. Chris Long also took a second in the broad with a 10'4 and a third in both the L drill 7.02 and vert 34" all at an amazing 272 pounds!
Both Cliff and Chris had amazing days that were featured and I am sure they locked up their draft status.
The final stat I think I like the most is that when tallying the numbers, it is not just the fact that we again won individual events and even set a new record, but that 18 of the 20 athletes we sent placed in the top 9 at their position in at least 1 more more events contested! That I feel again demonstrated the depth of the program and the hard work that these kids put in.
No motor appears more admired among this draft class than Chris Long's. With uncertainty swirling over whether the Miami Dolphins will use the top pick on Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, as well as concerns about defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey's 2006 stress fracture, the University of Virginia defensive end and son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long is casting a long shadow over this draft.
The buzz at the combine is that Long may be the safest pick. From a defensive standpoint, he would seem an ideal fit for the new Dolphins front office team of executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells, general manager Jeff Ireland, coach Tony Sparano and the 3-4 defense they will employ.
Long's coach at Virginia, Al Groh, is a Parcells protégé who served as one of his key assistant coaches for years.
Long had 14 sacks last season at Virginia, and his relentless effort is reminiscent of Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowler Patrick Kerney , who led the NFC with 14½ sacks.
"I'm not sure there's any such thing as can't-miss," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says. "But I've never enjoyed watching a kid on tape the way I have Chris Long. He plays every single play of every game like it's his last. That's rare."
Rare and coveted.
"When you're going to hand somebody $20 (million)-$30 million guaranteed," he says, "more teams are cognizant of the fact that the kid better have a passion for the game and be clean off the field."
Former Tennessee Titans general manager and current ESPN analyst Floyd Reese says this is a strong group of defensive ends headed by Long. In Monday's drills, Long ran the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, finished first among defensive linemen in the 20-yard shuttle (4.21); second in the broad jump (10 feet, 4 inches); and third in the vertical jump (34 inches). He chose not to work out in linebacker drills, waiting until his March 18 pro day.
"I like this group of defensive ends," Reese says. "You can find a little bit of everything. If you want a 4-3 rush defensive end, a 3-4 linebacker … Long may fit all those.
"The other thing in a situation like Miami's when you bring in new coaches and a new general manager, the people you bring in will tell something about you.
"When you bring in a guy like Chris Long — high motor, flying at 1,000 miles per hour all the time, great work ethic, tough, great player — everybody goes, 'Oh, that's the kind of guy they like.' "
Most people believe that there is a best way to hit, kick and throw. Because of this, athletes spend countless hours working on their technique in these areas. Unfortunately, athletes do not pay the same attention to their running form, strength, flexibility or nutrition. Without these important components of athleticism, sport success is going to be minimized.
Running is a skill. Before an athlete ever worries about how well they hit or throw, they need to have proper running form and adequate strength and flexibility levels. Most athletes in America skip right past this stage of development and work specifically on the techniques of their sport. Although this may pay dividends at first, prolonged success is going to rely on what type of athlete you are, not your individual sport technique.
If you were faster, stronger, more flexible and ate better, would you be better at your sport? How much better? These two questions should demonstrate how important athleticism is to your future success. These are components that you should be working on at all times during your sports career to maximize performance and decrease the chance of injury.
At the Parisi Speed School, overall athleticism is what we develop. There is a best way to run, stop, land, jump, and change direction. When you are working on these areas, you have a huge advantage over all of the athletes that are skipping that step. Over the years, many people ask us how we produce so many great athletes. The answer is simple: make them faster and stronger than their competition. When you are faster and stronger, you instantly have the edge.
This week starts the 2008 NFL Combine. I have prepared 20 of the 300 athletes invited and cant wait to see them prove that speed is actually a skill. A week from today we will know if it still rings true.
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