Curious what happens on a pre-draft visit? Jaylen Harrell explains in latest draft diary

Michigan football's Jaylen Harrell is keeping a draft diary for the Free Press this spring ahead of April's NFL draft in Detroit. This is the fourth of five installments.

The NFL draft is less than two weeks away, which means the pre-draft process is just about finished.

First, there are the college all-star games; I played in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Then, the combine in Indianapolis. After the combine, schools have their own pro day workouts for NFL coaches and scouts. And the last part of the process are visits and private workouts for NFL teams.

I went to the Detroit Lions’ local day last week with a bunch of my teammates from Michigan. At local days, teams can host players from nearby high schools and colleges for meetings and workouts.

Our day with the Lions started early. We had to be there at 7:30 a.m. for check-in and breakfast. You start by filling out some paperwork and going over a medical questionnaire.

I did all the medical testing at the combine, so they just wanted to know if anything had changed with my health or if there were any new injuries they should know about.

Part 1: Jaylen Harrell's draft diary: Whirlwind well worth it for chance to live out NFL dream

Part 2: Jaylen Harrell draft diary: 6 vials of blood and a 37-inch vertical jump at the combine

Part 3: Jaylen Harrell's draft diary: Michigan Pro Day is over, it's time to give thanks

After check-in, we had a nice buffet-style breakfast with eggs and hash browns, sausage, bacon and oatmeal. I saw one of my friends from back home, Johnny Newton from Illinois, so I ate with him and the rest of my teammates.

I didn’t pay too much attention to my diet before I got to Michigan, but I wanted to gain weight in college so I've become very particular about what I put in my body. For combine training, I had to adjust my diet drastically. I couldn’t eat alfredo, I couldn’t eat bread. I was prepping my body to be in the best shape possible to run the 40-yard dash.

I’m still taking great care of my body. When the draft is over, you go right to rookie minicamp and the worst thing you can do is show up to minicamp out of shape. But I can eat carbs again. The Lions had chicken alfredo and grilled shrimp for lunch. It was the best.

After breakfast, we had positional meetings. I was in the linebacker room with my old Michigan teammates Mike Barrett and Junior Colston and a couple other guys. Kelvin Sheppard was our coach.

He seems like a great young coach. He brings a lot of fire, a lot of energy. He’s smart, he knows the game. I feel like he keeps things simple for his players and allows them to thrive.

The first thing he did in our meeting was install a defense. We talked about a few concepts and watched film of the Lions running the same defense, and he would call on us to correct what the players were doing wrong on film.

I had to watch Aidan Hutchinson, my former teammate at Michigan, and some of the Lions’ other outside linebackers. It was funny because one of the clips Coach Shep pressed me on was something Aidan did. I started laughing. He said, “Come on, don’t be shy.” I had to tell him like, “Yeah, he could have been better at that.” He hopped into something instead of rolling off. He was like, “I know it’s your boy but don’t hold back.” It was pretty funny.

At the end, he gave us a test and had us answer questions about the install.

I didn’t do the workout, but some of the other guys did. We watched them go through drills from the balcony overlooking the practice field, then had lunch before we left. When I got back to Ann Arbor, I got my workout in.

When teams come to work you out, it’s pretty similar. I had dinner with the Buffalo Bills a couple days after our pro day at Michigan. The Bills assistant defensive line coach, Matt Edwards, and one of their scouts took Braiden McGregor, Kris Jenkins and me to The Chop House in Ann Arbor.

We just chopped it up, got to know each other and talked a little bit of ball. The next morning, we did about a 25-minute workout, a little change-of-direction work and hit the sled a little bit, then went upstairs in the classroom. Just like with the Lions, they taught us a defense, we talked about our defense at Michigan and they quizzed us on what we learned.

The Lions were my last team meeting for now, so I spent the rest of last week getting ready to move.

My mom came up from Florida. She helped me clean and go through my stuff. I donated some jackets, hats, shoes and old Michigan gear to The Salvation Army, got some furniture ready to sell and gave my TV to one of my teammates.

I’ll get another TV whenever I get situated, but, man, that made everything feel real, like college is coming to an end and I’m heading to the NFL.

The draft is still about two weeks away and I’ll be having a small party in Florida with family and friends. I’m anxious to see where I go and what team I go to, but I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Jaylen Harrell explains what happens on a pre-draft visit