NFL hopefuls try out in Naperville

About 90 football players ran the first 40 yards toward accomplishing their dreams of playing in the NFL at a regional combine Saturday in Naperville.

But for Isiah Calhoun and others hoping to score a spot on a professional football roster as a free agent, the timing of their tryout just hours after the NFL imposed a player lockout could be just as critical as the time of their 40-yard dash.

“It's a huge factor,” Calhoun said about the labor disagreement between the now decertified players union and NFL team owners. “It's going to hurt the small guys like us who are trying to get on a roster.”

Calhoun, who hopes to play safety, graduated in May from Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis. After going through exercises in the morning at Players Indoor Sports Center, including the short shuttle, vertical jump and other drills related to his position, Calhoun advised other NFL hopefuls on timing procedures and how to run their fastest.

“I came here just hoping to go to the next combine,” Calhoun said. “Just make it to June is my goal.”

The next step for some athletes will be an invitation to the national combine in Indianapolis on April 15 and 16, said Adam Kruckenberg, the NFL's Chicago regional director. Athletes will find out by 6 p.m. Wednesday whether they made the cut, and Calhoun said he'll be staying close to his phone until then.

Regional combines in six cities across the nation were held two months earlier this year than in the past, Kruckenberg said. The league bought a company called Scout Camp that previously hosted the combines, and league officials decided tryouts would be held before the NFL Draft April 28-30, Kruckenberg said.

“This is just for any player that wants to come in and thinks they can make the NFL,” he said.

Earlier timing may be advantageous. With a tryout before the draft, elite players may be able to join teams in time for off-season training activities, and earn a chance to meet coaches, learn plays and adjust to the culture of a specific team, Kruckenberg said.

Still, with the lockout, Calhoun said now is not the right time to be a small college player looking for a big chance in the NFL.

“We're probably not going to get drafted,” Calhoun said of himself and his fellow NFL hopefuls. “You can't sign with a team until they get another agreement.”