'If I were lost in the woods, how would I get out?'

Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. (AP Photo)

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Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn will appear in Iowa City and Des Moines this week. Here are the times and places:

7:30-9:30 at The Pit in Iowa City

5-7 at The Rookie in Des Moines

6-8:30 at Tailgators in Coralville

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Adrian Clayborn was born in 1988. He is a child of the cell phone/GPS/"can't get lost if they parachuted out of an airplane into the middle of a forest" age.

If the all-American defensive end didn't have a cell phone with a GPS device before he was in high school in St. Louis, Mo., he certainly had one when he graduated from the University of Iowa in December.

Clayborn is in the final sprint to the first round of the NFL draft. This is when teams get serious, even if that means, sometimes, a silly question or two to see how a prospective pick thinks on his feet.

"One team asked me a lot of questions," Clayborn said in an interview this week. "One sort of stuck with me. If I were lost in the woods, how would I get out? It kind of threw me off guard, because no team started the interiew off like that. So, it threw me off a little, I guess, but it was kind of funny."

Why do teams do that?

"Just to get a reaction out of you," Clayborn said. "The interview process was fun for me. It gives you a chance to show your personality and show teams you're comfortable in an interview setting and talking to general managers and owners."

Clayborn is a child of the cell phone/GPS age, but he didn't give that obvious answer. 

"I told them I'd look for the nearest road," Clayborn said. "Then, he asked how I'd do that? I said I'd listen for sounds. I don't think he wanted a complex answer, but that was what popped in my head."

These are million-dollar questions. The millions are up in the air with the league's labor strike and looming lockout casting a pall over the NFL after the draft.

ESPN draftniks Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have Clayborn going between 24 and 27, where picks signed contracts in the $11 to $13 million range last year (about $8 million in guaranteed money).

The NFL Network's Mike Mayock has a list of who he believes are the top 32 players in the draft. He is adamant that it's not a mock draft, but he has Clayborn listed at No. 22 with the following statement that kind of says it all about Clayborn from the start of the 2010 season to now:

"Interesting guy," Mayock writes. "After his junior year, most would have called him a top-10 to top-15 pick. All that stuff about Erb's Palsy and will it affect his draft stock, I say watch the tape. He's a football player. [Wisconsin OT] Gabe Carimi got the better of him this year, but I though he dominated Carimi a year ago. If he goes in the low 20s, what a great football player you're going to get."

Clayborn, who finished his Iowa career with 37.5 tackles for loss and 19 sacks, has spent the last three months in Scottsdale, Ariz., training for the NFL combine and Iowa's pro day on Monday.

Before arriving in Iowa City on Friday, Clayborn talked to The Gazette about some of the twists and turns during this journey.

If you follow Iowa football, you know about Clayborn's bout (also written about here along with the death of his older brother) with Erb's Palsy, a loss of movement or weakness of the arm that occurs when the collection of nerves around the shoulder are damaged during birth. As you can imagine, his right arm was probed at the combine.

Q: I know you're tired of talking about this, but the arm thing. How did that play out at the combine?

AC: The one day we talked to all the team doctors, they didn't have a problem with it. They were actually pretty impressed by the recovery or whatever from birth. It all went well. No teams had concerns about it. Teams were pretty happy, well, not happy but impressed that it's gained so much strength and stuff like that. It went well. I expected doctors to be more critical about it, so it went well.

Q: Does it limit to where you can play on the field?

AC: It doesn't. I wish I could've played left end at Iowa just to prove it, but I don't have the film to back it up, so it's going to be hard to tell teams I can play the left side when I never have. It's just word-of-mouth, telling them I can play it, but they haven't seen any film on it, so they don't know.

Q: At Iowa, did it just work that way or did it play to your arm?

AC: When I came in, I was behind Kenny (Iwebema), so they just put me on the right side. It's just how it ended up, I guess.

Q: Were you able to fully extend it for the wingspan measurement [at the combine]?

AC: I have limited motion, so it's hard to get it back that far. Other than that, that was about it. On the team doctor day, pulling it and yanking and stuff, they noticed by external rotation isn't as good as the left one, but as far as strength-wise, all is normal.

Q: Was there anything else? There was a picture of the Wisconsin fullback taking a shot at your knees. It looked pretty bad. [Here's that link.]

AC: Nothing came up on my knees. It was just a fluke play. I came off for a few plays, just because I was shaken up, but nothing came of it. It seemed bad right when it happened, but it was fine.

Q: Psychology questions. Has there been anything that made you think, why in the hell are they asking that?

AC: One team asked me a lot of questions. One sort of stuck with me. If I were lost in the woods, how would I get out? It kind of threw me off guard, because no team started the interiew off like that. So, it threw me off a little, I guess, but it was kind of funny.

Q: Why do you think they do that?

AC: Just to get a reaction out of you. The interview process was fun for me. It gives you a chance to show your personality and show teams you're comfortable in an interview setting and talking to general managers and owners.

Q: How did you answer the "lost in the woods" question? Did you say, basically flip on the phone and hit the compass app?

AC: I told them I'd look for the nearest road. Then, he asked how I'd do that? I said I'd listen for sounds. I don't think he wanted a complex answer, but that was what popped in my head.

Q: Are you planning to go to New York?

AC: No, I wasn't invited. I was planning to be in St. Louis anyway. I want to be with family.

Q: Thoughts on the labor situation? Does it kind of hang over everything?

AC: There's still going to be a draft, that's the good thing. It's all going to get worked out. They can't not have football. It's going to get worked out, it's just a matter of time. It's going to get worked out. It's a big deal, but they can't not have football. It's nothing to panic about, but the lockout has to be done, I guess.

"They can't not have football."

Q: Agent process. I know that you and your mom were very serious about it (check this link). You hired Blake Baratz. Did you put him through the ringer?

AC:  I started talking to him in the summer before my senior year. I interviewed him and a couple agencies, gave them a bunch of questions and then I put it off for the season and picked it back up in December. I narrowed it down to two companies. I gave them tough questions. They weren't concerns but things I needed to know. I narrowed it down from there and picked after the bowl game.

Q: Was Baratz one of the agents who really went after you and drove you crazy? I know you and your mom were getting bombed pretty hard last summer.

AC: No, he didn't and I really liked that. The two companies I narrowed it down to really just let me have my time and didn't bother me during the season. Some guys would call all the time and just be annoying and try to trick you and stuff like that.

Q: What do you mean trick?

AC:  Not necessarily get you into a money situation, but just try to persuade you to come to their company. Tell you things that you know aren't true or information that they don't know.

Q: Was it an education unto itself?

AC: Yes. You just have to use your gut instinct and know when a guy is just trying to bull[bleep] you or whatever.

Q: Pro day, that's coming up in Iowa City. You didn't bench in Indy (the NFL combine in Indianapolis) is the plan still to bench down there?

AC: Yeah, I'm doing everything but the short shuttle because I had the fastest time in that [at Indy]. I'm going to leave that where it's at. [At the combine, Clayborn finished first in the 20-yard shuttle at 4.13 seconds. Wisconsin's J.J. Watt finished second at 4.21.]

Q: More pressure, combine or pro day?

AC:  I think there was a lot of pressure at the combine. Just having a lot of the top athletes at my position, there was pressure to perform. It was a little stressful. I think pro day will be more relaxed. There will be quite a few [NFL] coaches there, but not all the coaches. You can be more relaxed and just perform out there. It's going to be fun. It's still a job interview, but I think it'll be more relaxed. I can just run and not be tense about it.

Q: Team visits, when they visit now, it's getting down to serious time, is that the real test for you? [Clayborn didn't discuss the particular teams he's met with.] What are the settings like? Do you go to the NFL cities?

AC: I haven't really been through it, but from my understanding, they take you through all the people in the organization and take you out to dinner, that kind of thing. I think the most critical part of the process was the first impressions at the combine. That's where they get the first impression of you, in person. The visits are more in-depth, so they're important. You have to be on your A game. Don't fake it. Show them you're qualities.

Q: Do you prepare for that, too? The connections you have to make in an interview setting?

AC: Not necessarily. I guess some people do more than others. I communicate well. At Iowa, they teach you how to talk to people. It's not a big deal. I like to be natural and just speak, but I guess some guys do. That part comes natural to me. It won't be that much of a surprise for me.

Q: Have you worked up a draft ego to surf through the negatives that come up in regards to the draft?

AC: It comes with being in the position I'm in, a first rounder. It comes. It's not funny, but it makes me giggle, these guys on the internet and these mock drafts, they have no affiliations with the teams. They don't know what teams I'm talking to. They don't know what teams Nick Fairley is talking to. They just go off guessing and entertainment value. They don't know anything, really. They don't know if I'm talking to the fifth pick or the 20th pick or the whatever pick. You have to take it for what it is. They don't know what they're talking about, but they need something to talk about.

It comes with being in the position I'm in, a first rounder. It comes. It's not funny, but it makes me giggle, these guys on the internet and these mock drafts, they have no affiliations with the teams. They don't know what teams I'm talking to. They don't know what teams Nick Fairley is talking to. They just go off guessing and entertainment value.

Q: Does that stuff sting?

AC:  Not really. I know I didn't have such a great senior season. I know I can still play. I know what I went through, triple and double teams and all that stuff. I know I'm an NFL-level player. NFL teams have told me that. You've just got to take it for what it is. It's something to distinguish players. This guy didn't have a great senior season; J.J. Watt had a great senior season. They need something to talk about. It is what it is.

Q: Did you hear some of the Chris Spielman criticisms? They mostly came during games [Spielman is an analyst for ABC/ESPN. He did the Insight Bowl among other Iowa games last season], but he often brought up fitness. Does it bother you when someone like that says something negative?

AC: I don't really watch a lot of the games, so I don't know what everyone says. I'd like to see some people go 70 snaps full speed, as hard as they can against a passing team and then tell me how they feel after that. It's obviously different talking about it and playing it. Guys have respect for the game. Coaches have respect for the game. They know how Iowa plays, how tough we play and how tough our scheme is. You just take it for what it is.

Q: Was chasing Dan Persa around as hard as it looked?

AC: It was tough. The first half, we were on the field a lot. When we got to the second half, we were really gassed. If I could go back, I would love to stay on the field for all the snaps. But for the better of the team, I had to take a few snaps on the sideline. It would've been selfish to try to stay out there.

Q: I know you've been in Arizona. Who have you been working with and what's been the focus?

AC: I've been out here almost three months. I've been working at a place called PEP, Performance Enhancement Professionals. I've been working on everything. When I first got here, I learned about dieting right and getting rid of this belly. Eating right. Working on the 40, working on all the drills for the combine. Now, I'm just staying in condition. But really, it's learning how to be a pro athlete. I didn't know there was so much involved with being a pro athlete. The whole experience and just what's going to be coming in the next few months, there's a lot that goes into it. A lot I really didn't expect.

Q: Losing the belly?

AC: I say that jokingly. Every college guy has body fat, so just trimming down and getting more fit and getting more pro-ready, I guess I could say. [The expense comes out of the agent's end in percentages, FYI. Scottsdale for three months isn't going to be cheap.]

But really, it's learning how to be a pro athlete. I didn't know there was so much involved with being a pro athlete. The whole experience and just what's going to be coming in the next few months, there's a lot that goes into it. A lot I really didn't expect.

Q: How has Iowa been through this? I know Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle has a program for guys preparing for the draft [QB Ricky Stanzi was among those who participated this year].

AC: I had a conversation with coach Doyle even before the bowl game. I explained to him why I was leaving. There was mutual respect. He understood it. It wasn't a thing like I'm a junior and trying to come out early. I've been in the program for 4 1/2 years, so it wasn't bad at all. I've talked to coach Doyle since I've been out here and I've talked to coach [Kirk] Ferentz a couple times and coach K [D-line coach Rick Kaczenski] numerous times. It's not like all lines of communication have been cut off since I've decided to train somewhere else. We still talk. I love hearing from them.