COLUMBIA — Brandon Shell’s NFL combine began not with three-cone drills or a 40-yard run, but with X-rays at an Indianapolis hospital. There were interviews, measurements, medical and psychological exams, and more interviews before he ever set foot on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“When you’re used to watching it on TV, you’re used to seeing the TV part. But you don’t see the behind-the-scenes part, like all the physicals and all the stuff you’ve got to do at the hospital,” Shell said by telephone from Indianapolis. “You don’t see that part. You just see a lot of guys running on TV, and jumping and doing position drills.