"I think I'm the most consistent running
back (in the draft),'' Ball said. "What I can
really bring is the ability to catch the ball
out of backfield to expand an offense. I
showed that during my workouts.''
Moreover, he finished as the NCAA record-holder with 83 touchdowns (77 rushing).
"I think I'm the most consistent running back (in
the draft),'' he said. "What I can really bring is the
ability to catch the ball out of backfield to expand
an offense. I showed that during my workouts.''
Ball estimated that he visited eight to 10 teams.
That was part of the grind, too, he said about "waking up and getting on a plane and going to different
places to have a private workout.''
His most enriching trip was to Los Angeles and
the ESPN Sport Science lab. "It allowed me to do
what I'm good at doing,'' Ball said, "and really seeing the science behind it.''
Ball tested out extremely high on the Sport Science course.
First, he was timed in 2.082 seconds running
through a "car wash'' of six heavy bags, three to
a side. Only Oregon's Kenjon Barner had a better
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time (1.979) among the running backs in this draft
class.
After a series of cuts on a slalom run and a spin
move on a stationary blocking dummy in the middle of the course, Ball stiff-armed another blocking
dummy with more than 1,500 pounds of force.
His exact number ― 1,532 pounds ― was measured to be greater than Minnesota Vikings' Adrian
Peterson's stiff-arm force (1,259 pounds). "That's
crazy, I wasn't expecting that,'' Ball said.
On the final station, Ball launched off the ground
with about 1,400 pounds of force, thus generating
enough power to lift his 212-pound frame over a
5-foot-9 high bar into the "end zone.''
It was noted, then, that Ball's 16.8-inch calf muscles were nearly five inches larger than the circumference of a softball. "It definitely helps in generating a lot of power,'' Ball said.
His final test was dragging a sled (150 pounds of
