Quarterback Sean Schroeder envisions a future with few regrets.
Schroeder is among 17 former University of Hawaii football players who will audition for scouts at Thursday’s pro day on the San Diego State campus.
"When I decided to give this an opportunity, you go in with everything you have," said Schroeder, who has trained intensively the past two months at a facility in Irvine, Calif. "You don’t want to look back in life with regret. That’s the one thing I kind of hung my hat on. I don’t want to look back in life and see what could have been. I’m going to give it my all and see what can happen."
There will be two sessions. UH players will go in the morning; San Diego State players will go in the afternoon.
Schroeder will participate in the passing drills for both teams.
"I’ll be throwing twice on Thursday," Schroeder said. "It should be a good opportunity, getting in front of some eyes. They can get more evaluation."
A year ago, Schroeder had back surgery that limited his training through June.
"I played the (2013) season kind of down in weight because I wasn’t able to really work out," said Schroeder, a Duke graduate who transferred to UH in July 2012.
He said he has gained about 15 pounds, and expects to be at 200 pounds for Thursday’s weigh-in.
"It’s been good weight, too," he said. "I lost body fat and gained weight. That’s always a good thing."
He said the nutritionists at Athletes First changed his diet.
"To be honest, I probably didn’t have the best eating habits (in college)," Schroeder said. "I’ve always been the skinny guy. You try to eat as much as you can. You don’t really have to worry about what you eat. Where I trained, they did a good job of telling me about the good foods to eat and how to put on good weight. I really adhered to their guidelines."
Schroeder also focused on weight-training. He said he hopes the pro-day workouts will ease questions about his arm strength.
"I was kind of perplexed about that, too," Schroeder said of the concerns. "If you watch our tapes, you definitely see I made a lot of downfield throws."
In 2013, Schroeder completed 46 percent of his deep throws (traveling 20-plus yards from the line of scrimmage). An accuracy of 35 percent or better on deep throws is considered good. Of Schroeder’s 29 deep completions, 17 went for touchdowns.
Additionally improved blocking and more rollouts led to better quarterback protection. On plays when he was not hit, Schroeder completed 210 of 297 passes (70.7 percent). That accuracy increases to 77.2 percent after discounting drops and intentionally discarded passes.
"I do pride myself on being accurate when I throw the ball," Schroeder said. "You have to be. The name of the game is completions. We were able to do a lot of good things on the offensive side of the ball. I’ve spent the last couple of months working on that and doing certain things."
Schroeder said he has throwing sessions up to five times a week. He has worked with former USC receiver Marqise Lee, who is projected to be a first-round pick this coming NFL Draft.
He also has worked out with former UH receiver Chris Gant and tight end Clark Evans.
"It should be a good showing," Schroeder said. "Those guys look like they’re in good shape."