NFL Draft Diamonds Free Agent Interview: Daniel Docal, Defensive Back
Hello, I am @jrberendzen on Twitter and this is one of my free agent interviews where I ask very deserving free agents questions about the players themselves and about what a team would get in these players. All of these players should get picked up by NFL, CFL, and XFL teams and get a shot at being a career football player. So I hope you all read this interview and follow his journey on Twitter @DanielDF211
1.What made you decide you wanted to be a football player?
I always loved sports but growing in Europe I didn’t find a sport that I truly loved. When I was in High School I went to the States as an exchange student and fell in love with the game instantly. Been playing ever since.
2.What are your favorite moments from your football life?
Winning the German Bowl in 2017 was definitely a big moment but playing professionally in America for the first time and making the team (TSL Generals) with my long-time friend Mario Flores was probably even better.
3.What is your mindset when you are on the football field?
Tunnel vision, I’m not very emotional just try to stay laser-focused on doing my job.
4.What is your favorite workout?
I love doing defensive back drills and in the gym I’d say bench press.
5.If you could hang out with any football player past or present for a day who and why?
I’d love to hang out with Joe Green, Jack Lambert, and Mel Blount, so I could get a real feel of the attitude those guys played with back in the day.
6.What has been your biggest challenge in life?
Growing up in Europe from a Colombian family, we’ve had to work for everything we got and with football, it’s been the same thing. Coming from a small football country you’ve got to be truly self-made as an athlete and still compete with guys who aren’t.
7.What do you think is the key to success on the football field?
Consistency. I think that’s the most important thing, if you’re consistent on every aspect of the game you can get very far.
8.What do you hope to achieve as a football player going forward?
My only hope as a football player is to get as far as I possibly can. To give it my honest best shot and see what I can achieve with that. If it works out for me I think it’d be proof that anyone can do it if they put their mind and heart into it.
9.What type of energy do you bring onto the football field?
I’m the type of person that wants to see everybody win. So I’m very optimistic and I get excited to see my team making plays. I think that’s contagious.
10.What would a team get in a player like you?
I know it’s cliché but they’d get a hard worker. Just a guy that understands the urgency of the business and that’s going to show up every day ready to work.
11.Rank focus,footwork and skill based on what is most important to you as a football player and explain why?
Focus is the most important one for me because if you aren’t focused you can’t perform at your best and if you’re trying to be a pro you have to bring your 100% every time. As a DB I think footwork is very important as well because if your technique isn’t on point on any given play you’re going to get burned. And lastly, skill just because you can always get better at it.
12.What is your favorite stadium that you’ve played in?
The Alamodome in San Antonio. The first college game I ever watched on TV was played there so it was pretty cool to me to go there to play myself years later. If I had to pick one in Europe it’d be New Yorker Lion’s stadium in Braunschweig (Germany).
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com