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LINCOLN — Jared Crick stepped off the treadmill and climbed off the exercise bike feeling pretty good about himself this week in Indianapolis.

The recovery from a torn pectoral muscle is still in progress, and the former Nebraska defensive tackle doesn't discount being 100 percent when he returns for the NFL Combine.

But the speed, explosion and wind are all there, so Crick is most excited about putting his fingers in the turf, waiting for the start and busting off an impressive 40-yard dash for the scouts.

"I was a pretty fast dude in college, and I'm feeling myself getting faster while I'm training," Crick said. "As long as I keep progressing, I'm confident in that. I want to do better in other events, but if I run a good time at the combine, I'll be very pleased with myself."

Crick is pretty sure he can go in the range of 4.80 or 4.90 seconds. A year ago, Christian Ballard of Iowa (4.80) and Nick Fairley of Auburn (4.87) were the only ones out of 26 defensive tackles and nose tackles to run sub-4.90 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 40 is something that Crick has been focusing on since reporting to Velocity Sports Performance last month. Former NU teammates Alfonzo Dennard and Yoshi Hardrick have been training with Crick at the facility in Irvine, Calif.

"I've been running great, with all the speed training and plyometrics," Crick said. "I'm back to where I was running before."

Crick got a chance to see where he was at with some other things this week as part of a Gatorade Sports Science Institute testing event in Indianapolis, run in conjunction with the Super Bowl. Crick was among a dozen NFL hopefuls who were put through some testing and educated on sports nutrition and a fueling program designed to improve their performance heading into the combine and draft.

In testing Tuesday and Wednesday, Crick got to see things such as oxygen levels, reaction times, grip tests and body composition.

"Anything and everything," he said. "It was challenging, but also very fun."

Crick said his agency, Athletes First, recommended his name when Gatorade contacted. Crick was more than happy to take part in anything that might help him, with either performance or exposure.

"To be affiliated with Gatorade, that's a good move for anybody," he said. "But as far as a whole lot of exposure, I'm not a huge advocate of 'being out there.' I'd rather prove myself at the combine or during my rookie season."

Crick doesn't believe he's strayed off many NFL radars despite playing his last game Oct. 8 and missing postseason opportunities such as the Senior Bowl. Last month, Pro Football Weekly ranked him No. 38 among draft prospects, but he's not listed in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper's top five defensive tackles.

"My pectoral might be a red flag for a lot of teams," he said, "but I like to think I've got a lot of film for people to go off and I've got the combine to go prove myself."

Crick also is ready to prove the injury is almost in his past.

The 6-foot-5, 286-pounder said he has been "progressing amazingly" since surgery. He was rehabbing two weeks out of surgery, bench-pressing after four weeks.

Crick is easing closer to his old self on the bench, which is tested at the combine, and said his range of motion is maybe even better than before because of the rehab and stretching.

"It could have been worse, as far as what I'm learning," he said.

Still, it was bad enough.

Crick at first thought he separated his shoulder when he was injured in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. The shoulder checked out and, despite the pain, Crick tried to return to the game.

That lasted one play when Crick realized he couldn't lift his left arm.

"I just shut down," he said. "I actually quit on the play. Something that I never felt in my life. It was terrible. I hope I never have to experience anything like that again. I hope nobody does. It was a terrible feeling, terrible pain."

Crick felt a different kind of pain in following weeks, particularly when the Blackshirts were dismantling the Michigan State offense in a 24-3 win Oct. 29.

"We were just killing it," Crick said. "My teammates were doing so good. It was like, 'God, I would give anything just to be out there. Give me a play. I'll get a sack.' That's how it was going for us.

"That moment, I was just like, 'Wow, my life sucks right now.' But it's one of those things. You can't go back."

Crick would rather talk about his rehab, the GSSI testing, the combine. The future.

Soon he'll be full go again.

"At the rate I'm getting better," Crick said, "it's only a matter of time before I get there."

World-Herald staff writer Jon Nyatawa contributed to this report.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

twitter.com/RKaipustOWH

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