A Man and his Dream: Part III

Published March 5, 2013 | By James Lancaster

We continue our look at one man’s dream of breaking into the NFL. Today, Donterrious checks in with us and tells us what he has been doing to prepare for the regional combine at the Chicago Bear’s training facility.

–I weight trained on Monday. Squats,bench, abs, shoulders were the main lifts. On Tuesday I ran at my high school and did drills to get my speed up….things like sprints and I also try to run up a huge hill at my rival high school to work on power and acceleration. I run this hill night or day, rain or snow , hot or cold. I know my hard work will play off one day. I also take pictures with my phone to remind myself not everyone will run a big hill around 9pm at night in the snow when the weather is only a few degrees above O. (I keep myself motivated!)

I also worked on my positional (cornerback) skills; things such as coming out of breaks, backpedaling, working on transitioning the hips on routes. Things like that.

Tomorrow I will do some “core exercises” and some ab work. I’ll do more stuff but those are the main lifts.

On Thursday I plan do more positional drills but will also play more catch, in place of the speed drills. I’m still workin on the cornerback drills though.

Friday is another weight lifting day. I will do front squats, incline bench press, pull ups, shoulder press, abs. I would also do extra sets of things or different lifts like dumb bell bench or one legged squats

I would usually ride the stationary bike or treadmill for five minutes before I would lift then I would do walking and static stretching to get my body warmed up for my lifting that day.

Doing track in college helped me with my running mechanics so I try to do a those type of stretches before I lift to get the best out of my warmups because it involves speed drills, arms, legs, back, everything needed for a good workout/ improving running mechanics.

As far as my diet I try to eat the proper things to stay in shape and gain weight eating the proper meals (pasta mash potatoes, steak cottage cheese, fruit,yogurt, grapes,salmon, peanut butter.) Those types of food.

After my workouts I drink low fat chocolate milk along with grapes and cheese.

I watch a lot of film too. My college cut ups my coach did for us in the off season to help us stay mentally prepared over the summer and into camp. I also look on Youtube for new techniques to improve my skills and have a better understanding of the game. I watch NFL games and watch the different schemes teams use as well. I try not only to find DB drills but receiver drills and techniques to know how they think, and to also be ready for the tricks they think they have on us DB’s .

I was able to talk to JJ Moses, the former Houston Texans player from my home town of Waterloo, Iowa. The advice I got from his was to keep working hard, put God first, and don’t take no for an answer. He had some points to help not only me but others as well. Have a vision, prepare for the opportunities that will help your vision become a reality. Someone is always watching you, so make sure your doing the right things, and seize your opportunities.

I’ll keep checking in with you guys as the regional combine is less than 5 days away!

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When not fighting crime or sleeping, James enjoys working out, playing with his K9 partner and his kids, participating in his "On The Fin Side" radio show, and working on this website.