Dunlap answering questions

<p>Last December, Carlos Dunlap seemingly had it all. The junior defensive end had high first-round NFL draft stock, a body many pro players would kill for and was days away from an SEC Championship game that could give him a chance to play for another national title.</p><p>Then Gainesville police found the 6-foot-6, 290-pounder slumped behind the wheel of his 2000 green Chrysler at a stoplight around 3:25 a.m. on Dec. 1. Dunlap, then just shy of his 20th birthday, was charged with DUI and subsequently suspended for the game against Alabama. The rest is Gator football history.</p><p>"I'm still dealing with it today with my probation and knowing that I could have possibly made a difference in the (SEC Championship loss to Alabama)," Dunlap said following his Wednesday performance at UF Pro Day. "If not even making a play, I could have just disrupted a play that might have changed the game and helped my teammates. That's something that I'm going to have to live with forever."</p><p>Since the arrest, Dunlap's stock has fallen, as NFL executives question his maturity and ability to play hard on every down. Once a top-five possibility, reports have Dunlap possibly falling out of the first round.</p><p>"The bottom line is if you can get him to play hard every snap," said NFL Network Draft Expert Mike Mayock, who still figures Dunlap into the late first round. "You compound that by giving him a lot of money if you take him in the first round, which makes it even harder to get a kid to play every snap."</p><p>Fifteen weeks and a day separated the arrest and Dunlap's pro day performance. He's taken the time to improve his game and the numbers show it. Between February's NFL Combine in Indianapolis and Wednesday, Dunlap's 40-yard dash fell from 4.66 seconds to 4.59. He improved his 225-pound bench press repetitions from 21 to 23, improved his broad jump from 91 inches to 93 and raised a few eyebrows during the interview process. Much of the progress came from a six-week period spent in south Florida, where he worked from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except for Saturdays (8 a.m. to noon).</p><p>"Things always get twisted and turned through the grapevine," he said. "I figured I'd get myself in front of (NFL executives) for interviews and workouts and let them make their own judgement. They're going on only what they've heard, so I figured I gave them a good chance to really get to know me better. If their judgement is still the same, then I have to just continue working."</p><p>The work will continue well past next month's NFL draft, as Dunlap continues to prove himself on and off the field, repairing an image that was clean for three years until that December night.</p><p>"It was an isolated incident and the only incident I ever had. It was my first and my last," he said. "I'm just trying to turn it into a positive and clear my family's name. It was one of the worst times of my life and I never want to go through it again or put anyone else through it again."</p><p>NFL teams are more concerned that they'll be put through a scenario where a high pick doesn't provide high return.</p><p>"There's a perception in the league right now that he's more of a follower than a leader," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. "Ultimately, I still think he goes in the first round because he's too athletic and too gifted physically. I hope he realizes what he has and that the light comes on and he surrounds himself with the right people, because he has a chance to be special. He can be a super player in the NFL if he dedicates himself to it."</p><p>Following Wednesday's Pro Day, Louisville head coach and former Gator defensive coordinator Charlie Strong huddled around midfield with scouts from 17 different NFL teams answering questions that ranged from Dunlap's motor, his character and what it takes to motivate him. The incident on Dec. 1 has made several teams wary but not totally uninterested.</p><p>"I still think a team will take him in the first round," Mayock said, "but trust me, there are a bunch of teams right now saying that they just don't feel confident enough that his motor runs strong enough."</p><p>Of the teams interested, Dunlap isn't shy about naming a favorite.</p><p>"I grew up a Carolina guy, so it would be very fortunate to play back home and have your family and everybody there," Dunlap said. "But football is going to be football wherever I get drafted. I'll go anywhere and make an adjustment and set my goals and start achieving them.</p><p>"But this whole experience has made me a better player today. It's made me respect the game a lot more. I had everything taken from me just that quick. Everything that I've worked on my whole life and knowing that I couldn't get it back. You have to respect what you have."</p>