July 23, 2009

I’ve been working out at IMG in Bradenton this week with a lot of other clients of Sportstars, like Fabian Washington and Nick Collins. Mike Jenkins of the Cowboys was also there.

Choosing an agent depends on what you like more than anything. Our agents are real cool, you can call them about anything and everything, life, your contract, whatever. Obviously you want your agent to get you a big contract and Sportstars have guys who can put a good contract together. But some agents are flashy, some aren’t. All depends on what you like.

Anyway, I’ve been working hard at IMG and today was my last day. Right now I’m driving back to Jacksonville. I feel very comfortable, I’m a little more confident going into camp than I was last year because I didn’t know what I was getting into.

I’m in good shape but football shape is different. Working out now is nothing like when you put the pads on, 10 pounds of helmet and pads strapped to you.

Mostly I just want to get back on the field because I love playing football. There are going to be some days at training camp when the sun is beating down, it’s extremely hot and you’re like, man, I don’t feel like playing football. But you always have to remember that it’s a blessing to be in this situation, and I’m always happy to be out there on the field. There are going to be those days, don’t get me wrong, but then I have to remind myself that I’m fortunate to be in this situation.

This weekend I’m going to relax, then back to Detroit on Monday, do some running on Monday and Tuesday.

When it’s time to report everyone is happy to see each other again. Even though you might be competing for a position, outside of football lots of guys are friends. I just saw some guys last week at Ernie Sims’ weekend in Tallahassee. He had a football camp and quite a few players were there, a lot of Florida and Atlanta guys. Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson, Travis Fisher.

Travis is a cornerback and he took me under his wing last year so it was great to see him. He got cut and that really shows you the business side of things. You’re almost scared to make friends. When that happens it’s crazy and it really hits home. It was tough but we keep in contact. I check up on him. He’s still my homeboy.

Cliff Avril is a defensive end for the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com

runs at www.avril92.com. Follow him on Twitter as cliffavril.