Indiana University Athletics
Nick Westbrook Gets Creative in Pursuing NFL Dream
4/2/2020 9:13:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Improvisation found Nick Westbrook ready for a starring role.
What choice did this former Indiana wide receiver have?
With the NFL Draft looming later this month, Westbrook wanted to make a big impression on scouts and coaches. When Covid-19 wiped out IU's March Pro Day, and so many other opportunities, he became an actor/director of sorts.
In other words, home-made video.
"I recorded all the different drills I needed to do," he says. "My agent compiled it all together and sent it out to all the teams."
After the Hoosiers' 8-5, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl season, Westbrook headed to Seattle to train, which was a good idea until a major Covid-19 outbreak erupted in the area.
He had to leave Seattle, but he wanted to take one final advantage of the facilities.
"Seattle was like the epicenter for where all this started," he says. "I worried about a travel slow down and then travel being banned. So I left early.
"The day before I left, I took an impromptu Pro Day video. It was not ideal. I was still in full training mode. I was not able to cut back like I wanted to and get my body right.
"I wish I had a professional videographer, but I had to make the best of what I had and do it myself."
Adding to the urgency -- Westbrook wasn't invited to the NFL Combine. He needed to show coaches and scouts what he could do after months of intense training.
He never got the chance.
"I went to a training facility in Seattle. I'm working my tail off. Everything is leading to that (IU Pro Day). It was like getting ready for the first game of the season. Everything is building up.
"You're getting antsy. You want to perform. I'd done everything I could to be ready for this moment. And then, for it not to be there, it's tough to handle. Especially for a guy like me who didn't get a Combine invite.
"I had a lot to prove, and I felt I could have proven it on Pro Day, but you just roll with it because these are unprecedented times."
Westbrook did participate in January's East-West Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. He had some strong practices, then caught one pass for six yards in the game, but the advantages went well beyond that.
"I'm grateful for it. It's such an awesome experience. Being there for a week, playing with all the different players and being in front of scouts. It gave me a leg up. I felt really good about it. It helped my stock."
Westbrook didn't have a monster final season at IU (42 catches, 572 yards, 5 touchdowns), but he did finish with career numbers of 144 catches, 2,226 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. That ranks seventh, sixth and seventh in school history.
At 6-3 and 215 pounds, Westbrook has NFL size. He almost certainly will get a pro chance, either by being drafted or signing as a free agent.
In this pass-happy football era, you can never have enough good receivers. NFL teams have reached out to him.
"I've had a few calls. My agent has talked to quite a few teams. They're trying to figure it out, as well.
"I'm still wondering how this will play out with rookie camp and everything after the draft. It will affect the number of undrafted free agents. There are a lot of question marks. I'm trying to get to know more."
In the meantime, Westbrook continues to work out. Like so many players with NFL dreams, doing that is difficult because Covid-19 has forced gyms and workout facilities to close.
Westbrook has improvised, even bringing along his mother to help.
"I use sand bags because I don't have any dumbbells," he says. "You've got to be creative to stay in shape.
"I have to stay with my diet plan. It's healthier than it used to be. I'm getting food delivered from Publix. Making sure it's all the right stuff when you can't pick it out yourself makes it a little tougher.
"It's kind of fun to say I'm going through this. Hopefully everything works out, I get in the league (the NFL) and look back at my story that I was basically doing Rocky workouts in my backyard and driveway."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Improvisation found Nick Westbrook ready for a starring role.
What choice did this former Indiana wide receiver have?
With the NFL Draft looming later this month, Westbrook wanted to make a big impression on scouts and coaches. When Covid-19 wiped out IU's March Pro Day, and so many other opportunities, he became an actor/director of sorts.
In other words, home-made video.
"I recorded all the different drills I needed to do," he says. "My agent compiled it all together and sent it out to all the teams."
After the Hoosiers' 8-5, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl season, Westbrook headed to Seattle to train, which was a good idea until a major Covid-19 outbreak erupted in the area.
He had to leave Seattle, but he wanted to take one final advantage of the facilities.
"Seattle was like the epicenter for where all this started," he says. "I worried about a travel slow down and then travel being banned. So I left early.
"The day before I left, I took an impromptu Pro Day video. It was not ideal. I was still in full training mode. I was not able to cut back like I wanted to and get my body right.
"I wish I had a professional videographer, but I had to make the best of what I had and do it myself."
Adding to the urgency -- Westbrook wasn't invited to the NFL Combine. He needed to show coaches and scouts what he could do after months of intense training.
He never got the chance.
"I went to a training facility in Seattle. I'm working my tail off. Everything is leading to that (IU Pro Day). It was like getting ready for the first game of the season. Everything is building up.
"You're getting antsy. You want to perform. I'd done everything I could to be ready for this moment. And then, for it not to be there, it's tough to handle. Especially for a guy like me who didn't get a Combine invite.
"I had a lot to prove, and I felt I could have proven it on Pro Day, but you just roll with it because these are unprecedented times."
Westbrook did participate in January's East-West Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. He had some strong practices, then caught one pass for six yards in the game, but the advantages went well beyond that.
"I'm grateful for it. It's such an awesome experience. Being there for a week, playing with all the different players and being in front of scouts. It gave me a leg up. I felt really good about it. It helped my stock."
Westbrook didn't have a monster final season at IU (42 catches, 572 yards, 5 touchdowns), but he did finish with career numbers of 144 catches, 2,226 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. That ranks seventh, sixth and seventh in school history.
At 6-3 and 215 pounds, Westbrook has NFL size. He almost certainly will get a pro chance, either by being drafted or signing as a free agent.
In this pass-happy football era, you can never have enough good receivers. NFL teams have reached out to him.
"I've had a few calls. My agent has talked to quite a few teams. They're trying to figure it out, as well.
"I'm still wondering how this will play out with rookie camp and everything after the draft. It will affect the number of undrafted free agents. There are a lot of question marks. I'm trying to get to know more."
In the meantime, Westbrook continues to work out. Like so many players with NFL dreams, doing that is difficult because Covid-19 has forced gyms and workout facilities to close.
Westbrook has improvised, even bringing along his mother to help.
"I use sand bags because I don't have any dumbbells," he says. "You've got to be creative to stay in shape.
"I have to stay with my diet plan. It's healthier than it used to be. I'm getting food delivered from Publix. Making sure it's all the right stuff when you can't pick it out yourself makes it a little tougher.
"It's kind of fun to say I'm going through this. Hopefully everything works out, I get in the league (the NFL) and look back at my story that I was basically doing Rocky workouts in my backyard and driveway."
Players Mentioned
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