"There is none."

That's the standard answer from players in the National Football League when asked about the off-season. Sure, there are several weeks of banquets and events to fete the accomplishments of college standouts before the rigors of the combine. NFL veterans who don't appear in the Super Bowl appear at a number of events in the host city and take the two weeks to decompress after a rough season.

But, it's not long before players are back at work, either in their personal gyms or in team facilities. It's mid-May and we're already talking about mini-camp reps and a host of personnel decisions that lay ahead.

I say this ? it's a beautiful thing.

This past week, approximately 30 members of this year's draft class made their way to sunny southern California for the annual Reebok NFL Players Rookie Premiere presented by EA Sports. In some cases, players were forced to miss their teams' mini-camps which were run in conflict with the event. Anthony Gonzalez of the Colts and Brandon Jackson of the Packers were the two players most impacted by the scheduling issue. Gonzalez won't be able to work out with the team until Ohio State's commencement activities, costing him significant time of running patterns and learning the intricate Indianapolis offense. Jackson's absence was more significant, as he stands a good chance of seeing a sizable workload in the Green Bay backfield. He was eager to get to work and show Mike McCarthy his abilities.

They'll have their chances to shine on the field soon enough. This weekend was all about getting their best pose on for the cameras of the trading card companies, reunions for college teammates and bringing the competition to the screen in the annual Madden tournament. We're told that the tournament finale was decided by a last-second field goal.

On Saturday, FOXSports.com attended the event and had a chance to watch the magic at work. Players went to several photo stations and attempted a variety of poses and in many cases did a dead sprint to the camera for the immediate gratification of viewing the digital image. The wide receivers were clearly most excited to do the end zone celebration dances outlawed in the college game. Dwayne Bowe of the Chiefs had clearly been watching his Deion Sanders footage, as he had the famous "Prime Time Shuffle" down.

Another player favorite was the snow machine used for an Upper Deck shot. It made for a stunning visual and something a bit different from the usual portrait sitting. I can't wait to see those cards later this year!

Players were diving, dancing and enjoying every minute of their time in the famous Coliseum. But, for all of the excitement of seeing themselves on trading cards, signing autographs for later promotions and clowning for the lens, it was apparent in speaking with the players that they were humbled and honored by the opportunity to don an NFL jersey.

We've brought many of those conversations back from the event to the pages of FOXSports.com, including a few minutes with top selections JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson. Christian Andersen and I spoke with the players about their expected roles for this season (I couldn't let my fantasy people down!), accomplishments to date and even some gems about their tunes. Hey, we need to know what fuels them. The most common artist mentioned by the class of 2007 was Lil' Wayne, for those who want to be hip.

The most animated player at the event was unquestionably Cincinnati running back Kenny Irons. The man was a ball of energy! Kenny Irons was engaging and clearly thrilled to be sporting his black Bengals uniform. He even trash-talked the camera during one of his photo runs.

In addition to JaMarcus Russell, Calvin Johnson and Kenny Irons, we had the opportunity to interview Ted Ginn, Jr., Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, Patrick Willis, Drew Stanton, Garrett Wolfe and Brian Leonard. And how can I forget the vise-like grip of Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson!

The two moments that stood out for me in these clips were the pride with which Brian Leonard spoke of the rebirth of the Rutgers program and Garrett Wolfe's determination to make it at every level of the game. Selfishly, there was also something about talking to Wolfe eye-to-eye after staring up at JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson.

The players were very generous with their time and answers. I sincerely wish to thank them for their participation in our coverage. It was a great event and a unique opportunity to speak to them in a relaxed environment in this bridge time between college stardom and the brave new world of the NFL.

Our thanks also go to NFL Players for their hospitality.

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