Akeem Spence strode up to the lectern in the Memorial Stadium press box on a December afternoon wearing a purple button-down and a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. His eyes glanced from his prepared notes to the cameras before him as he began to speak.

“First off,” he started. “I would, uh, like to thank the University of Illinois for giving me the opportunity to become a, uh, great student-athlete.” 

He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left and back again as he thanked his coaches, Illinois fans and his father. He hesitated, smiling to himself, appearing to have lost his place in his notes, apprehensive. He fumbled for a moment, and then thanked everyone who had ever been there for him.

Then he said, “Without further ado, I’ve decided to forego my senior year and enter the 2013 NFL Draft.”

Thus began a journey unlike anything the 21-year-old defensive tackle had ever experienced, or likely will ever experience again.

The biggest job interview of your life

It’s rare that a person has the biggest job interview of their life in their early 20s. But for hundreds of former college football players across America, that is all they have been doing in the months since bowl season ended. They devote every moment of the day to the goal of hearing their names called in the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday in New York City.

One month prior to officially announcing his decision to turn pro on Dec. 21, Spence couldn’t legally buy a beer. In two or three days he will be on his way to making as much as half a million dollars in the next year.

For many, the decision is made for them. The majority of the players that will be drafted this weekend have used up all of their college eligibility. Some, like Spence, choose to leave early (although Spence graduated the day after his announcement with a degree in communications, having redshirted his freshman year). 

Spence is the eighth player to leave Illinois early for the NFL since 2008, including three in 2011. All were chosen in the first three rounds of the draft, and Spence figures to do the same.

“Seeing Corey (Liuget), Whitney (Mercilus)go off and make millions of dollars … I’ve been in the room, played with them, lined up next to them,” Spence said in his news conference that day. “So I felt like it was my turn. I just try to imitate everything they do.” 

Preparation

With so many former Illini in the NFL, finding an agent isn’t hard for Illinois players with aspirations at the next level. Former Illinois offensive lineman and NFL hopeful Hugh Thornton said he found his agent through recommendations from coaches and former players. 

“It’s a different process for everybody,” Thornton said. “Some of the former players and coaches (recommended) good guys who knew what they were doing as far as offensive line and as far as getting people from Illinois to the league.”

But the agent is just the beginning. Then it’s about finding a training facility and spending the next two months preparing to showcase themselves for scouts. Players from this year’s Illinois class spent time in places like Chicago, Florida, Arizona and Ohio.

Defensive tackle Glenn Foster spent his winter training at Athletic Edge Sports Performance Center in Bradenton, Fla. Many facilities, like Athletic Edge, focus on training professional athletes, and some even focus primarily on preparing football players for the NFL Combine. More than 30 current NFL players train with Athletic Edge, including Victor Cruz of the Giants and free agent Joseph Addai.

Foster was at Athletic Edge from early January to late February. He and Thornton, who trained with Poliquin Performance in Northfield, Ill., both said the experience was tough, but not as bad as they thought it would be.

“I over-anticipated the grind,” Foster said. “But it was worth it because I got my body in shape, I got my mind right and focused. It was a big sacrifice and you’ve got to put everything into it to get the best results.”

The NFL Combine 

Every spring, hundreds of NFL hopefuls descend upon Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine. Four Illini were invited to this year’s combine: Spence, Thornton, Michael Buchanan and Terry Hawthorne. But what most people don’t understand is that the combine is about more than 40-yard dash times and bench pressing.

The majority of the players’ time is spent off the field, being probed by NFL scouts.

“For me, I was prepared because I had guys, former teammates, former offensive linemen who had been there,” Thornton said. “They kind of walked me through the process. Then I got there and there’s really no preparing for it.”

The interview process is grueling. And on top of that there are the personality and psychological tests. Teams want to know anything they possibly can about a player before they draft him. 

Often, the interviews are as important than the on-field performance. And running a fast 40 or lifting a lot of weight doesn’t always translate to success on the field. That makes it all the more important to make a good impression on scouts in the interviews. 

“It was a grind,” Thornton said of the combine. “But at the same time it’s exciting because people are getting to know about you. It’s pretty much a big job interview with all the teams in the NFL.”

Pro Day 

Foster was in the gym training at Athletic Edge in Bradenton when his agent came in and told him he hadn’t been invited to the combine. The announcement came as a disappointment for Foster, who had been putting up big numbers in his workouts and thought he might be near the top of his position at the combine.

“I really kind of shoved it off like, ‘It’s all good. I know what I’m capable of doing,’” Foster said. “I’ve got my Pro Day. Pro Day is my goal, that’s what I’m training for. It was that or go home.”

For the players who weren’t invited to the combine, Illinois’ Pro Timing Day was their combine. It was their best chance to prove themselves. On March 7, 39 NFL scouts representing 18 teams showed up to the Illinois football facilities to watch the former Illini showcase themselves in the weight room and on the field.

Foster especially left scouts wide-eyed. He bench pressed the 225-pound barbell 29 times and ran an unofficial 4.79 40-yard dash. And the evaluations didn’t end there; Foster spent more than an hour working on a psychological exam for one scout after the workouts.

Foster’s draft stock skyrocketed after his Pro Day performance. He is likely to go somewhere in the middle rounds of the draft. Williams and Justin Green also impressed, Green running an unofficial 4.40 40-yard dash. 

Team Workouts

On April 10, Foster, along with Buchanan, Spence and Hawthorne, found themselves watching game film in the Illini football facilities with Bill Belichick.

Foster said Belichick questioned them on their football knowledge and technique. They also worked on agility drills in the indoor facility.

“It was humbling,” Foster said of working with the three-time Super Bowl-winning coach. “It’s something you want to do when you’re a kid.”

Most of the former Illini have spent the months since Pro Day working out in Champaign. Many of them workout together, and with other former Illini already in the NFL, such as Jeff Allen.

But maybe one of the most important parts of the entire draft process is the individual team workouts, when coaches — like Belichick — get to work with the players in an intimate setting.

Teams have one last chance to meet with a player and get an understanding for what type of person they are. And for the players, it means they’re coming down the home stretch.

Draft Weekend

Every player handles draft week differently. Thornton will be watching with his family in Boise, Idaho. Foster doesn’t even want to watch it. He said he would be catching a movie and hopefully playing a round of golf — while keeping his cell phone nearby. 

When it’s all said and done, a handful of Illini, whether drafted or undrafted, will be seeing their name next to an NFL team.

Foster will be glad when his job interview is over.

“It’s one of the toughest things to go through because you’re in the dark for four months of your life,” he said. “No job, no career, just staying in shape. You’re in the black because you don’t know where your destiny’s going to take you.”

Sean can be reached at sphammo2@ dailyillini.com and @sean_hammond.