Calling the Shots:

There seems to have been at least one test on every level Trevor Theriot has played. Another one comes today in the form of Pro Day at UCLA.

The former Newport Harbor High football standout is trying to make it to the NFL as a fullback. That’s a big-time test in itself, but his mentality is that his one shot comes today. He believes that much of what the future holds, lies in the speed, strength and agility drills he’ll perform in Westwood.

“I never realized it would all come down to one day,” he says. “But I feel very confident that I’ll have a very successful day.”

Much of his confidence comes from overcoming challenges in the past. When he was a senior at Newport Harbor, he sustained an elbow injury that sidelined him for three games. But he bounced back to become the CIF Southern Section Division VI Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

He could’ve taken the community college route, or could’ve become the big man on a Division II campus. But Theriot went to UCLA, where he began as a walk-on. After a redshirt year, he became a starter. And, then he earned a scholarship.

But all of a sudden, an unwanted test came for Theriot, the fullback many know as “Moose.”

Three games into his junior year, he suffered a knee injury, a torn ACL.

“It made me a better player,” Theriot says. “I could’ve just given up and could’ve said it was over.”

Once again, Theriot came back. He had to start over. There wasn’t a starting spot waiting for him upon his return from intense rehab. He was in a rotation and did his best to make plays on special teams as well. By season’s end he became the starting fullback.

“It has definitely been a difficult process,” he says. “I’ve had some high hurdles to climb, but I got over them and now I’m ready to have a great day [today].”

Theriot also came back from a broken femur he sustained when he was 11. “You don’t stay injured forever,” he says.”

Three years before that, he nearly quit football. As a kid playing for the Newport-Mesa Junior All-American program, Theriot wanted to go home and call it a day during a game.

But his coach told him, “You’re my Moose. Stick to it.”

Theriot has stuck to it, indeed. But he’ll have to show even more determination today and in the weeks ahead.

Fullbacks in the NFL are near extinction. It’s a passing league, with multiple-receiver sets. When some teams do use a fullback, it’s usually a tight end or even a defensive player.

What’s more, Theriot is ranked No. 23 out of 109 fullbacks by NFLDraftScout.com in next month’s draft. Last year, just one team selected a true fullback. That was LSU’s Quinn Johnson, who went to the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round.

At 6-foot, 235 pounds, Theriot is hoping some team will take a chance on him. After graduating from UCLA with a double major in political science and history, Theriot went to work to improve his chances for his NFL dream.

He acquired an agent, Tom Kaufmann, and later trained for seven weeks at Velocity Sports Performance in Redondo Beach to prepare for his Pro Day. Training at Velocity was $500 a week. He received help from the community to continue his training.

To gain inspiration and even more motivation, Kaufmann had Theriot flown out to Chicago, where he learned from former NFL fullback Bob Christian.

Theriot says Christian told him that he had sustained 45 concussions in the NFL, much of his time spent with the Atlanta Falcons. That never swayed Theriot in his quest to become a fullback too.

The position requires players who are hard-nosed, hard hitters, linebacker types. Theriot has shown that away from the field. Now he hopes to apply it today, and later for an NFL team.