Former Grizzlies prepare for NFL

At least two former Montana Grizzlies look primed to join the nine ex-Griz on National Football League rosters next season.

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson and inside linebacker Caleb McSurdy are preparing for next week's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

McSurdy, who led the Griz with 131 tackles in 2011, has been training the past two weeks in Glendale, Ariz., with Anvil Athletics.

"I think I'm improving on a lot of things," said McSurdy, who is ranked 19th out of 109 linebackers on nfldraftscout.com. "Combine training is not like football training. You're trying to turn yourself into more of a track athlete. Running, lifting and diet, it's just different than how you do it to prepare for on the football field. It's a learning curve."

McSurdy and fellow ex-Griz Jon Opperud are working with Anvil's head strength coach John Krasinski, who has most notably trained NFL standouts Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson.

"We've both got that small-school chip on our shoulder," said McSurdy, a native of Boise, Idaho. "We're just working hard to make the best of this opportunity."

Opperud's sole focus is preparation for Grizzly Pro Day, which will take place in early March, while McSurdy and Johnson have their sights set on the NFL Combine, which starts next Wednesday.

This year will mark only the second time two former Griz have been invited to the combine in the same year. The first time was 2008 when Kroy Biermann and Lex Hilliard both got the nod.

While McSurdy trains in Arizona and takes online classes to finish his degree in organizational communication, Johnson is preparing for the combine with coach Tom Shaw in Kissimmee, Fla.

Shaw's camp, which focuses on increasing speed rather than conditioning, has trained 122 first-round draft picks.

Johnson, a two-time All-American who made 44 starts for the Grizzlies, is projected to be an early third-round draft pick. On Wednesday, NFL Network listed the 6-foot-3 Californian as the fourth-best cornerback in the draft.

The hype doesn't come as a surprise to Montana Griz head football coach Robin Pflugrad, who after the 2010 season said Johnson had the skills to be on an NFL roster.

"He's really got it all," said Pflugrad, who coached Johnson for two seasons. "He's a lock-down corner. He's physical and he tackles very well."

Johnson and McSurdy can both increase their draft stocks by keeping pace with athletes from the Football Bowl Subdivision in the six events that will gauge speed, strength and agility next week in Indianapolis.

"The big thing about being from a small school is that people say, ‘Well, he hasn't played against elite speed or elite competition,'" McSurdy said. "But for me, if I go out there and run the same 40 (yard dash) as an inside linebacker from a big school, then it kind of validates what I did this season and on how I look on film."

Players also do interviews with NFL team scouts, representatives and general managers at the weeklong event.

"It's when they get to know what kind of guy you are and get a feel for your football IQ," McSurdy said. "They'll put you up on the whiteboard and ask you to draw up different defenses and just kind of see how smart you are. Those meetings can carry you a long, long way."

dustin.askim@umontana.edu