Deadrin Senat’s NFL Draft Blog part 3: Post-Pro Day

The 2018 NFL Draft will kick off on Thursday, Apr. 26. USF defensive tackle prospect Deadrin Senat and FanSided have teamed up on an exclusive multi-part blog heading into the draft.

Editor’s note: Deadrin Senat’s blog is told to and transcribed by FanSided senior editor Michelle Bruton. 

My Pro Day was on March 26 at the Frank Morsani Football Complex at USF. I feel like I did great. I only participated in position work; I talked to my agents about going with my Combine numbers, and that’s what we did.

I went in there with a good mind-set — I felt good, I didn’t get tired doing the drills. It was a good showcase for me and the other defensive linemen who were there.

After the NFL Combine in February, I took a day and a half off, and then I got right back into it to prepare for the Pro Day.

I got back on the field with the USF football team, doing individual work and position drills leading up to the actual day. I was getting ready for interviews with my position coach.

It was good being back with the team. I would wake up around 7 a.m. and get some cardio in and lift at night. Working with the coaches prepared me to be in shape for the Pro Day.

On the day, our drills were run by the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator, Kacy Rogers. Before we did the drills, he talked us through each and every one and told us how he wanted them. We did about eight drills in 15 minutes.

He didn’t have to tell me to do anything twice, and at the end he was telling me he liked everything that I did. He knew Coach Strong and our defensive coordinator, Brian Jean-Mary, and before the drills Coach Rogers was joking that he hoped he didn’t waste a trip down here.

After we were done, I said, “Coach did you waste the trip?” And he said no — he liked what he saw.

Coach Rogers was really motivational. We were always going to give it our best — it’s an opportunity. But you’ve got everybody watching you, so he said why not show up and show out? He was basically just telling us it’s our time. You have 30-plus teams out here, so why not give it all you’ve got?

Now that my Pro Day is over, the draft is next. I’m still doing the same thing, training with the team and doing extra cardio to get ready for training camp with whichever team drafts me. Around 7 p.m. at night, three times a week, I get a little lifting in. It’s a full-body lift to keep my strength up.

But the big thing is balancing my strength with my flexibility. Stretching plays a big role in everything I do now. I’m doing big, big stretches at the end of my workouts, and foam rolling and treatments in the hot tub and cold tub. That’s why I lift at night, so I have the whole day after I run to recover.

[Editor’s note: Then I asked Deadrin how he felt about the expectation that he’ll be the top prospect drafted out of USF.]

It’s a dream come true to even get a chance to get drafted, but if I am the top USF prospect drafted, I’ll be happy just to have the chance. All these guys and I have worked so hard, and at our Pro Day, we were looking around and realizing it’s the last time we’ll all be here in the same spot together.

But all our futures are bright, and nobody is looking at it as, “I’m going to get drafted higher than you,” or, “You’re gonna get drafted higher than me.” We’re all in it together.

I’m happy people are saying I’ll be taken first out of the USF roster, but some of those things I did wouldn’t be possible without those guys. I’m just blessed and truly happy to be where I am today.

I’m really looking forward to the draft. My mentor and I will be watching together in my apartment, or maybe a hotel, on the day, and I can’t wait. I can’t even sleep some nights thinking about it.

"Did I do enough?Could I do more?"

All I have is time on my hands, and even when I’m working out I think, Did I do enough? Could I do more? Those are the questions I ask myself daily, and I just can’t wait to take that next step.

After I get drafted, that next day, I’m gonna go to [my hometown], Immokalee, and have dinner with my pastor, Homer Betancourt, until I’ve got to fly out to meet my new team.

Deadrin Senat is a defensive tackle prospect out of the University of South Florida. The Immokalee, Florida, product has collected numerous accolades throughout his college career, including being named an All-Conference (AAC) first-team selection in 2017, a season in which he ranked second for the Bulls in tackles. Heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, he is ranked fourth in the nation among interior defenders in run stops. Follow Deadrin’s NFL Draft journey in Part 1: Pre-Combine and Part 2: Post-Combine.