Two-time Grey Cup champion Darian Durant shared his wisdom for aspiring professional football players attending the CFL Invitational Combine on Friday in Waterloo, ON.

“Just be yourself. I think sometimes you can go into these events with a lot of nerves, not just a little bit, and it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. I keep saying that for these guys, but just try to be yourself and try to do everything that you’ve done on the field,” Durant said on The SportsCage.

“Bring that all out into one day and just try to be as calm as possible. I think nerves kill athletes in these big-time environments more than anything. You think that you have to do more than you really have to or you’re worried about how a coach sees you or what team is over there. You see all these different things around you, but you can only control what you can control, and that’s your workout. So don’t worry about everything else.”

Calgary Stampeders’ defensive back Adrian Greene and Ottawa Redblacks’ defensive lineman Aidan John boosted their CFL Draft stocks at the league’s invitational combine. Athletes will compete in Waterloo and have the chance to go to Edmonton to compete in the national CFL Combine.

Prior to Durant’s career in the CFL, he did not attend the NFL Combine, but he performed at the University of North Carolina pro day leading into the 2005 NFL Draft.

“There are some guys who don’t test well at all and I was one of those guys. Never the fastest guy in the world anyway, but I didn’t test that well,” Durant recalled. “If you put a 300-pound guy behind me and he’s running after me, then I bet you I can outrun him.”

For fans who are unaware, Durant explained the differences between a pro day and a combine.

“The combine is all about numbers, about testing. It’s about your 40-yard dash, your broad jump, your vertical, your short shuttle, everything that can be tested so the scouts can compare numbers to previous guys and see where you stack up against some of the top-tier guys in the league,” Durant detailed.

“When it comes to pro day, now it’s about how you move, execution, and more football-related drills. For quarterbacks, you get to throw every route you’re throwing to familiar receivers. At the combine, these are guys from every team in the country. You’re not familiar with how they run their routes, their body movements, the timing that can throw you off a little bit. I think that’s why you see a lot of these top-tier quarterbacks refusing to throw at the combine because you want to be in your comfort zone.”

Durant spent some time with the Baltimore Ravens in 2005 after going unselected in the NFL Draft. He spent the majority of his CFL time with the Riders from 2006 through 2016, winning two Grey Cups in 2007 and 2013. His final season as an active player was with the Montreal Alouettes in 2017. He did sign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2018 but retired before the season started.

Durant put scouting hat on and shared his insight into what he would look for at an event like the CFL Combine.

“I’m a big believer in film. What type of tape has this guy shown throughout the course of the season? Is there consistency in his film? Is he showing that he’s a football player? It’s easy to go out there in shorts and a t-shirt, do these drills and look super athletic, or your 40 time is one of the greatest ever. But when you put on shoulder pads, a helmet, you have about 10 to 15 pounds worth of gear on, now you can play at that speed?” Durant questioned.

“Can you be successful as a receiver? You see these receivers are running 4.2s nowadays, which is blazing fast. But what do you do when there’s a DB in front of you? If he jams you, if he knocks you off your route a little bit, can you still be able to maintain that type of speed? I’m a guy that looks at film, then I’ll look at your numbers to see if your speed matches the way you play on film. There are some things that you can’t really get a feel for at the combine. You want to see his tape, you want to see him being explosive on film, that’s what I like to stick to.”