FRANKLIN, Tenn. — It was the second day of 2006, and the first day of the rest of DeAngelo Williams's football life. Or, at least, the first day of the three-month process whereby talented football players prove to NFL teams that they will make for fine professionals.

Williams and his buddy from the University of Memphis, Maurice Avery, were finishing up a workout heavy on sprinting and stretching, and even though it was just one week after their final college game, in the Motor City Bowl, they were definitely feeling the burn.

"It's amazing," Williams said during a break at the D1 Sports Training facility, "what a week off will do. Woo."

Out of shape? asked someone.

"Out of shape ain't the word," said Williams, a running back. "I feel like I took a year and a half off."

D1's lavish new facility, which features a 60-yard playing surface covered by field-turf, still is under construction, and workers in hard hats were everywhere. Around the corner from a suburban mall, the property was formerly known as "Recreation World," and this hangar-like building once housed an indoor go-kart track.

One worker covered the plaster on a retaining wall with black paint, and affixed a piece of notebook paper reading, "WET PAINT."

Another worker cleared brush outside with a mini-excavator.

The noise of rap music mixed with percussive hammer blows, the tinny sound of metal being worked and the whistle of trainer Judd Granzow.

Other NFL prospects, like former Tennessee wide receiver Chris Hannon and former Florida and Furman quarterback Ingle Martin, also were on hand, and the scene was appropriate.

Like Williams and Avery, they are hoping to use the coming weeks and months to polish their skills and complete the punch list of items NFL scouts most desire in a prospect.

In the case of Williams, who set numerous school and NCAA yardage records, that will mean two primary things — how fast he runs the 40-yard dash and the versatility he can show as a running back who can block and catch passes.

Most mock drafts, which are very preliminary right now because most non-seniors have yet to declare their professional intent, have Williams going somewhere among the top 10 picks in the draft. Avery is just hoping to get drafted, as a receiver.

To move up, Williams knows he must impress at the Senior Bowl in Mobile the week before the Super Bowl and put down a time in the 40 that creates a buzz.

Williams' agent, Jimmy Sexton of Memphis's Athletic Resource Management, likens the draft process to "training for an Olympic event."

Granzow, like an Olympic trainer crunching hundredths of seconds, frets over the tiniest of details, like whether Williams and Avery have their right toe pointed at the correct angle as they crouch for the 40.

"The main thing is working on technique and getting faster," Williams said. "With the NFL, those three initials alone mean speed. You got defensive ends running a 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 in the 40, and I've got to be faster than them."

Granzow, at one point, reminds Williams to keep his head and shoulders from bobbing up and down. Avery, whose move to quarterback caused him to add weight, must improve his flexibility and develop a starting technique in the sprints.

"In the NFL," said Williams, "they want to know how fast can you run around the cones, how fast can you run through the cones. They don't have a drill for breaking 17 tackles."

Williams is wearing those yellow Lance Armstrong bangles on both wrists, in honor of his mother and aunts, plus a blue-and-gray "Go Tigers" bracelet.

Will Bartholemew, a former Tennessee fullback and part-owner of D1 Sports, marveled at Williams' physical gifts.

"Can you believe the size of DeAngelo's calves?" said Bartholemew, who still looks like he could bench press 400 pounds himself. "He's built like a freaking tank."

As the workouts grew more intense, Bartholemew said to Avery and Williams: "So that's why y'all bring it to Tennessee every year."

The next time Williams plays "Tennessee," of course, it will be the NFL's Titans.

In this first week of 2006, that still seems like a distant dream for Williams, who grew up in Little Rock and later Wynne, Ark., fantasizing about one day playing in the NFL.

"It still hadn't hit me," Williams said. "It feels like I'm just working out for next season, with the Tigers. It's like I'm just somewhere else, waiting on the season."