Former Olympic Sprinter Michael Johnson Helps Players Prepare For The NFL Combine

For the past eight years, sprinter and five time gold medalist Michael Johnson has showed former college football players how to impress scouts at the NFL combine. His workout facility at Craig Ranch in McKinney is simply known as the Michael Johnson Performance Center.

"It’s a matter of trying to get these guys be consistent," says Johnson. "If they do that, when they get to the combine, they'll have their best performance."

While Johnson has been training and guiding former college football players, this is the first time that he has been able to utilize his new center in McKinney. The NFL Combine will take place from February 20th through 26th in Indianapolis where speed is the name of the game. They need to learn how to better get off the line in the 40 yard dash so they can turn in their best time.

"We have to reteach guys how to run because they've been running the same way for years,” says Johnson. “A lot of times they're running with a ball, they're running with pads on, but a lot of is just inefficiency."

Among his prize students leading up to the combine is Arkansas' Darren McFadden, twice a runner up to the Heisman Trophy voting and a two time winner of the Doak Walker Award.

"I'm a very explosive person but the way they tell me I can always get more explosive," says McFadden. "By them showing me on a computer, I can actually look at what I’m doing."

Lance Walker, the Director of Performance and Sports Medicine for Michael Johnson Performance says, "McFadden's got so much power, like a real powerful boat, if you don't trim the motor just right, it'll just porpoise right out of the water. He’s got all this power we've got to harness.

Johnson knows all using a different running style, but it allowed him to win five Olympic Gold Medals. "I got criticized early on in my career for the style that I ran with," he says, "Obviously, it worked. But we decided, hey, we'll take a look at it and see.

The players he's coaching this week are on the verge of starting a career in professional football, and Johnson is trying to give them a physical and mental edge.

"I've learned that I can get a lot more flexible and a lot faster," says Derek Lokey who starred at Texas as a defensive tackle. "Here, I've learned a lot about myself and also learned a lot of mental tricks."

"This is my job now. I love it you,” says Tony Hills, a former teammate with Lokey at Texas. "For all the kids out there, education is important, but I tell you what, it’s a lot easier just to play football."

Johnson has his trainees working six to eight hours a day, six days a week. No one said preparing to face NFL scouts would be easy, but he’s determined to have his group of NFL hopefuls ready for the combine.

SMU'S JON KILLEN IS A STUDENT FIRST

SMU Point Guard Jon Killen fits the definition of a student athlete. He’s one of three seniors on the men’s basketball team and is a graduate of Arlington Martin High School. This year, in his final season, he has become Head Coach Matt Doherty’s leader on the court.

“He's one of the best players in the league now,” says Doherty. “He plays more minutes than anybody else. I don’t think you can argue the fact that he is more valuable to our team than any other player is to their team.”

Killen compares his position to a player football. “Being the point guard is kind of like being the quarterback,” he says. “No one has to say anything. You are the leader.”

Because he grew up in the North Texas, Killen says he plans to stay in the Dallas Fort Worth area. “I plan on living in the area after I graduate so if there was anywhere to go, it was SMU.”

Playing basketball for SMU is a great way to attend college, but Killen takes his commitments off the court even more serious. He's about to graduate with a double major in Business Management and Sociology and maintains 3.4 GPA. Says Killen, “SMU athletes embody student athletes and that's somebody who first goes to school and works just as hard on the court as they do off the court.”

To make his point, Killen is doing research to help co-author a book, but his favorite moment in school is when he received the Myer Brothers Academic Award. It’s given to an athlete for academic success, athletic performance and community involvement.

“I know it’s a new award, but it’s supposed to embody a student athlete who works hard on and off the court,” he says. It’s a student involved on campus and things like that, so that's really a big deal because we've got so many good kids here at SMU.

Doherty says Killen may have a chance to play professional basketball in Europe, but until that happens, he says he has no idea what the future holds.

“You know, I wish I knew. I wish I knew,” he says. “I'm just so busy to make sure I graduate my senior year.”

Doherty gives him a ringing endorsement. “Every time I talk publicly, if you want to have a successful company, you should hire Jon Killen.”