National Football League

Draft Diary: Robert Myers tracks path to the NFL (Part 1)

Published Jan. 18, 2015 10:40 p.m. ET

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Robert Myers played offensive guard at Tennessee State. Myers, who is originally from Nashville, Tenn., made himself eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft. He teamed up with FOX Sports to do a draft diary, a sporadic series that will run up until the draft. Myers will take you through the process of training for the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine, his pro day and the anticipation for draft day. Here is his first entry, in his own words.

Before I begin I want to say how grateful I am for the opportunities in front of me. It's truly a dream come true getting a chance to play in the NFL, and I'm excited to take you along in the process.

I have spent the past six weeks training at Bommarito Performance in South Florida in anticipation for this week's Senior Bowl. 

Being here so far has been a great experience. Even though I had been down here for vacation once before, I didn't think I'd love Florida as much as I do. I spent my whole life in Nashville. Even though I was born in Chicago, I moved when I was a kid and played high school and college in Nashville.

I didn't even start playing football until my junior year of high school and didn't see the field until my senior year. I don't know if I can move back. Florida is the bomb. I don't see much because my trainer, Pete Bommarito, has me training six days a week, all day. When I come home at night, I pass out. But on Sunday's I'll hit the beach and grab some Florida seafood. I also might hit the mall in Boca or Aventura for some fresh gear. I even found a new spot in Boca to cop some Jordans. 

Coming from a small school, I want to use this week at the Senior Bowl as a chance for me to show what I can do. I want to make a statement. Pete and his staff have given me to tools that I need to get better. I know where my athletic ability stands for the 40-yard dash and the shuttle run. There are some "big school" guys down here and we compete every day. I work with an MMA guy three times a week so I can improve my hands, footwork and it also helps with hand-eye coordination. This should all help in the position drills and 1-on-1s at the Senior Bowl. 

At the Senior Bowl, I want to go and dominate. I never got the chance to play SEC football or BCS football so I want to show them who I am. I have some teammates that transferred from big-time programs and they keep telling me I'm gonna kill it.

But I want to stay focused and humble. I just want to have fun and make a bigger name for myself. I want to show everyone that I can play football at the next level. I love football. It's my life. I wake up every morning looking forward to the Senior Bowl, the combine and the draft. I just love the game. 

There were two guys I played with last year who got drafted. One was taken in the fifth round (Kadeem Edwards) and the other in the seventh round (Demetrius Rhaney). That makes me confident I can perform well against players from big schools. It's not about where you are, but about who you are as an athlete and as a person.  

I can't change what people say or think about me until I go down there and put the pedal to the metal. I feel like I can jump in at the line of scrimmage and do what I do at Tennessee State. I got this opportunity because people know I can play and now it's up to me to prove them right.

One thing I want you to know about me, is people close to me call me Snacks.

Sometimes people think it's because I eat up the D-line for snacks, but it really started at team dinners when I was a freshman going into football camp. The seniors would have seniority and they'd eat first and the freshmen would eat last. While we waited to get our dinner, I would be snacking on different stuff. Then my coach just started calling me Snacks.

I’m sure y'all had roommates you had to deal with, but man, a little later on in school I had to start putting my snacks in the trunk of my car because my roommate would just be eating all my food. I wasn't having that. So I kept a bunch of food in the trunk. One day I was pulling up to football practice and I popped open my trunk and a bunch of my teammates saw mounds and mounds of food like Debbie Cakes and Doritos, anything you could ask for. They started making fun of me and that's when they all started calling me Snacks.

I'm looking forward to this process. I've put a lot of hard work into this and I'll be ready. Talk to you soon.

Follow Robert Myers on Twitter @yofavSnack.

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