EDITOR'S NOTE: Kyle Bosch was a three-year starter for West Virginia at offensive guard, garnering All Big 12 honors during his tenure with the Mountaineers. A native of Saint Charles, Illinois, he is now considered a solid NFL Draft Prospect, with a chance to improve his stock on Thursday at West Virginia's annual Pro Day in Morgantown. This is the second of a series of diaries Bosch will do in "as told to" form with HERO Sports senior writer Brian McLaughlin. Bosch is one of several subjects who will periodically break down what it is like to be an NFL Draft prospect, day in and day out. Today he talks about Pro Day and what it was like to work with highly respected Matt McChesney at Six Zero Strength and Fitness in Denver.
BOSCH: Diary No. 1 – The Shrine Game
PRO DAY IS HERE
My mindset has been preparing for Pro Day and I’ve put my best foot forward on that. I expected to go to the combine after three solid years of tape, but I didn’t get the invite and that’s not the end of the world. Guys who I’ve talked to who are one year in the league say the most stressful and irritating part of the process is the combine. It’s the most tedious. It wasn't the end of the world and I wasn't going to lose sleep over it. I’m just going to prove I have that kind of ability and let my tape speak for itself.
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As far as being in contact with teams, they contact my agent and my agent relays the questions to me for the teams. I don’t personally get a lot of phone calls, but I did talk to just about every team down in Tampa during the Shrine Game.
#AllAccess rolls 1-3 @orangeblue760! @bkdenversports & I talk #NFLCombine #NFLDraft #NFL & of course #Broncos & #BroncosCountry! Damn excited getting @samthejonesy @Kyle_Bosch65 @AJ_McCollum in studio talkin #NFLDraft process over @sixzerostrength as they are in the mid of Prep! pic.twitter.com/UN6T9vzBDR
— Matt McChesney (@SixZeroStrength) February 15, 2018
THE DENVER EXPERIENCE
When I was out in Denver I worked more on offensive line position drills, specifically, doing technique drills for the Pro Day and the Combine. What separates what I did in training from other training centers is we dove into pro style film breakdown, getting to know the pro style offenses and defenses and analyzing that.
We worked on film with former O-linemen and D-linemen to know what to expect over the next couple of months. I worked with Sam Jones and A.J. McCollum from Arizona State, and we learned with Matt McChesney – the former NFL guard, along with Connor McGovern who plays for the Denver Broncos and Ryan Jensen who is also in the NFL (just signed with Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
After awhile you really get to know everybody well, and they were a bunch of nice guys and professional vets there in Denver working with us. They take us under their wing and if we’re messing up and not doing the correct technique or our footwork is wishy, washy the pro guys will be the first to say you need to do X-Y-Z. It’s great to be coached up by guys who’ve been there and done that. It’s an insider’s perspective of what’s to come.
It’s at a point right now where it still feels like we’re in college as football players and we have a long way to go before we get to the pros. It’s definitely a humbling experience. Working out every day and not having a real job is certainly different than 99 percent of the populace. At end of the day there’s nothing I’d rather be doing, and it is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a child.
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Bosch (right) works Xs and Os in Denver during his training (photo courtesy Kyle Bosch)[/credit]
THE FINAL STRETCH
All of this preparation definitely is not as glamorous as I thought it’d be when I was a kid, that’s for sure. When I was eight years old or so, it was my dream to get drafted, but this is strenuous and anxiety filled, but at the end of the day you go to the gym and do your thing and let the chips fall where they may.
Pro Day isn’t like your typical job interview. It’s all determined by the general manager and the scouts, and all you need is one team to believe in you. Whatever happens, I plan to be in the NFL. It doesn’t matter where you end up and how you got there, it’s an opportunity to make that 53-man roster and contribute to the team.
When I watched the Super Bowl, I watched the technique and fundamentals. It’s the same thing as when I entered Michigan and I ended up playing early. You watch and learn and keep your opinions to yourself and ask questions when necessary and appropriate. You listen and hopefully you can use those experiences. There’s that opportunity to be a solid backup and then from there hopefully be a starter there one day. It’s all baby steps and you can't expect to be Johnny Unitas from the start. It’s definitely not the easiest thing to do in the world.
It’s definitely going to be a challenging and tough ride to get that opportunity but it is not an impossible, unreasonable goal to have. There’s a lot more building blocks that I need to reach first. After the Pro Day, I’m probably going to head back to Chicago and be home for a few weeks before heading back to wherever I’m landing.
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NEXT: Boston Scott NFL Draft Diary: Talking Pro Day and Private Workout on 'The Hot Route' Podcast
