HAWK TALK

April 2015

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7 In the workouts that Donnal has participated in over the past month, he said feedback is that many view him as a versatile player who can play either side at tackle or guard. "I've been told to keep working hard in the weight room and doing tackle and guard drills on both sides," Donnal said. "I've played both positions, so I'm comfortable with both. I'm going to keep do- ing what coach (Chris) Doyle tells us to do because he's the best at his job." Donnal and classmate Brandon Scherff look to be the 13th and 14th Iowa offensive linemen draed since 2003. Donnal praises coaches Kirk Ferentz, Brian Ferentz, and Doyle for helping him the past five years and believes he is prepared for the next level. "e sense that I got from those I spoke with at the Combine is that the reputation of the Iowa pro- gram is outstanding and it holds a lot of weight," said Donnal. "We're hard workers, do things right, and are fundamentally sound football play- ers, which speaks volumes about the coaches. I'm grateful to have this experience and level of coach- ing at Iowa. It helps having that background going into the NFL." e 2015 NFL Dra will be held April 30-May 2. Donnal plans on going to Ohio to be with family during the Dra. "I'll enjoy being home for a little bit before seeing what happens next," said Donnal. T he University of Iowa football program held its annual Pro Day on March 23 inside the Stew and LeNore Hansen Football Per- formance Center. Personnel from all 32 National Football League (NFL) teams traveled to Iowa City to observe Hawkeye seniors who have dreams of playing in the league, go through drills. Iowa's Pro Day came a month aer select players participated at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. One of the Hawkeyes who participated in both the Combine and Pro Day is 6-foot-7, 305-pound offensive lineman Andrew Donnal. e native of Montclova, Ohio, said all the seniors have been working out since the bowl game. "It's fun to show the work that everyone has put in over the offseason," said Donnal. "is is the time of year where it all pays off." Donnal, who graduated in December, said not attending classes while working out has been an adjustment. "It's been awesome," Donnal said. "It's different just taking care of your body and working out. It's a different animal than college football. It's more business and it's been a learning process. e ul- timate goal is to land on a team and keep playing football." Donnal, who started all 13 games at right tackle in 2014 and earned honorable mention all-confer- ence, participated in all the drill work at Iowa's Pro Day, while also re-testing in the bench press and three-cone drill. "I'm happy with my performance," said Donnal. "I improved my bench by six reps and ran a bet- ter time in the cone drill. ose are two areas I focused on and the work paid off. I met with a couple NFL coaches aerward and they seemed pleased with what they saw."

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