- By Josh Clark
- jclark@profootballtechs.com
USC wide receiver Drake London has heard about it all season.
About speed.
About separation – or a so-called lack thereof.
But the USC receiver reminded reporters Friday that he’s someone who rises above it — literally.
“When the dude is below me – I’m separating over the top of him,” London said, adding that his basketball instincts take over.
Just finishing his second year as a full-time football player, the former two-sport athlete has been trying to fine-tune other aspects of his game.
Over the past few weeks, London has been working alongside a former NFL wideout who made a career of turning jump-balls into chunk plays, former Bengal and New England Patriot, TJ Houshmandzadeh.
“He’s a guru at what he does,” London said.
He said he feels “stronger, faster” – but it hasn’t been that way all offseason.
After racking up more than 1,000 yards in just seven games, he fractured his ankle in October.
The pain was excruciating, he said. Not like anything he’d ever experienced before.
But he described it as “humbling,” saying at one point he had to use a walking boot.
A week before the NFL Combine, London said he was cleared to jog at 6 miles an hour on a treadmill.
From that point on, the road to recovery has been a lot faster.
Still, London passed on the 40 yard dash, noting that he’s only been running again for a few weeks.
When asked if he considered passing on his Pro day, he said he dismissed the idea.
“I can’t go into the draft and not do that. Have to show these GMs and coaches in person that I can move the way I do,” London said, after running cone drills and catching passes all over the field for a horde of scouts.
Representatives from the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans all attended, according to ESPN.
For those who still want to know if he can outpace, shake and shed defenders, “watch the film,” he said.
Everybody knew where the ball was going,” London said, referring to USC’s downfield passing attack. “I had triple coverage, double coverage all game, and it still didn’t stop me.”
