I've been working out twice a day getting ready for my first training camp. I'm really anxious to get started. You hear some horror stories about how tough training camp is, but I'm ready for it. Everyone I talk to says it's all business and that I should catch any naps that I can during the day because they say you might not get much sleep with all the stuff going on.

I got to talk to Jacob Hester a little bit since he was a rookie last year and just went through it. He talked about the fact that camp is just a grind. It's good to know that I can go to him with any questions.

It's hard to explain to people how much I love playing football. I just can't wait to put the pads on and do it. The grind is actually what I'm looking forward to the most. I want to get motivated every day and see myself get better. My goal is to work hard and show everyone that I go all out every play. I think that if I show that I will find my way on to the field in some way during the season.

I'm also curious to see what camp life is all about in terms of the guys. I'll have to get a feel for everything. I'm curious to see how everyone acts around each other. I'm sure the PlayStation will come out at some point too.

I signed my first NFL contract the other day and it was a dream come true. I have wanted this for a long time and I am really excited to officially be in the NFL. I view it as a stepping stone in my career. It's one of those goals that you achieve before anything else. I signed my contract during the day then boarded a plane to my first training camp that night. It was a good day all around.

Camp started Monday for the rookies here at our training facility. I'm ready.

Gartrell Johnson is a rookie running back with the San Diego Chargers. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.gartrelljohnson33.com. Follow him on Twitter as gartrelljohnson.

 

It's finally starting to sink in that I'm an NFL player now that I've gotten to be around all the guys.

 

By far the biggest shock so far has been how fast everything goes. You hear about it leading up to the draft that the NFL is so much faster, but you can't really understand it until you see it every day. The speed of the guys is insane. If you make one false move during a play you are going to get beat.

 

The one guy whose speed is just ridiculous is Darren Sproles. I have never seen a guy with his speed and energy. He goes 100 mph all the time. Being able to match his energy level on every play is what I strive for. He's extremely passionate about the game too.

 

Right now I'm just trying to learn where to be and what to do on every single play. We have a pretty healthy playbook but not everything has been installed yet. When I saw our playbook I was excited to get out there and just get after it. I love football, I live it 24/7 so I was ready to go on day one.

 

The best way to make sure that I hit all my marks is by repetition. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to my first training camp. I want my coaches and teammates to see that they drafted a hard working guy who brings it every play of every practice. I will do whatever I can to help us win games. I have no problem doing the little things that win ball games.

 

Last year at Colorado State I had a chance to showcase my receiving skills out of the backfield too. I've always had pretty good hands and I think I will be able to help the team out with my catching abilities as well as my running and blocking.

 

Camp starts July 26th and I can't wait to put on the pads and go do it. It's going to be interesting to be in the locker room with all the guys. Should be a lot of fun. Me and the other rookies have bonded and they're all cool guys. Hopefully the veterans take it easy on us with the hazing stuff. Hopefully nobody gets taped to the goal post or any of that.

 

It's going to be all football all the time come the end of July. No distractions, no nothing. I can't wait to get my chance to really go at it.

Gartrell Johnson is a rookie running back with the San Diego Chargers. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.gartrelljohnson33.com. Follow him on Twitter as gartrelljohnson.

 

We had our first mini-camp already and it was a great experience, but it hasn’t really registered yet that I’m a pro football player.

I think when I strap the pads on it will really click.

Going in the 4th round to the Chargers was amazing. It was such a happy feeling but I really can’t explain it. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

San Diego is far from my home in Miami, but it’s not too far from Colorado State. The weather is a lot more like Miami but it’s got that cool California breeze. I’m just excited about the whole deal.

I watched the draft with my family at Bokamper’s, a sports bar in the Miami area. I like it there and I became friends with the owner Kim Bocamper, a former Dolphins player who had me on his radio show a few times.

Before I knew it I was in San Diego for mini-camp.

At this point the coaches are just throwing us out there on the field to see what we can do. We were only there for 3 days, so we got the playbook in a nutshell. Next time I’m there it will be for a month and a half, so we can really get into the playbook in depth, watch some film, watch some more film and get into the offense.

It’s going to be amazing learning from a guy like LaDainian Tomlinson. I just want to soak up everything he does, he’s been on top for a long time and he can do it all, run, catch, even pass. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer so it has to be a positive experience for me.

I sat next to him at meetings and mostly we just made small talk. He was telling me some things about reading defenses. This summer I plan to spend a lot more time with him and I’ll have lots of chances to pick his brain some more.

Gartrell Johnson is a running back from Colorado State University. He writes a blog for www.playerpress.com

I was so nervous before my pro day at CSU that I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t run as well as I could have at the combine and I wanted to run the 40 again and do a better job. I was very disappointed at how I performed at the combine after all the work I put in, and it was very nerve-racking because some people put so much into your 40 time.

But that doesn’t really measure how good of a running back you are.

A couple of teams have told me that I could be a sleeper in this draft, that I bring a lot to the table. I’m getting mixed vibes and I don’t know where I’m going to end up getting drafted. The highest estimate was the third round, the lowest was the seventh.

It doesn’t really matter to me. I want to get drafted high, but if I’m not it’s all about getting into a training camp and showcasing my talent from there. I want to go to a team that I can contribute to early and showcase my talents like running downhill, get into my comfort zone.

There won’t be a lot of celebrating after the draft. Most teams have rookie mini-camp like 3-4 days after the draft, so I’ll just keep working to stay in shape. I won’t get the chance to celebrate until this summer, but when I do I’d like to go out of the country.

Gartrell Johnson is a running back from Colorado State University. He writes a blog for www.playerpress.com