ORLANDO, Fla. - Alric Arnett finished his career at West Virginia with 1,052 yards and nine touchdowns on 78 receptions. 540 of those yards were from balls thrown by Jarrett Brown. His quarterback on the field and his roommate off it, Brown has helped immensely in developing Arnett into the player he is today.

Now the two former Mountaineers are signed to the same agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and working with the same trainer, Pete Bommarito, in Orlando. Preparing for the NFL side-by-side is something Arnett and Brown have been planning for some time now.

“We always said we wanted to train together even if we didn’t have the same agent because he would be throwing to me on pro day,” says Arnett. “We wanted to keep that timing down and keep that connection going.”

It is a connection that has spread far beyond the football field, far beyond the everyday relationship between a quarterback and his receiver. These two were roommates during their time at WVU and Arnett feels that the bond they developed is more important than some may realize.

“I think it’s a trust thing. I’m pretty sure if a quarterback and a receiver spend time together, they talk about football the majority of the time,” he says. “We did everything together and I just cherish our friendship because it brought so many memories that we’re going to have for a long time.”

There are plenty more opportunities to make memories as they are both heading down to Indianapolis for the 2010 NFL Combine and then will make their return to Morgantown on March 18th for WVU’s pro day workout. Arnett says since they’ve been training together, he has seen a definite improvement in Brown’s game.

“He’s more accurate than he’s ever been. He’s been doing more footwork and moving in the pocket,” says Arnett. He hopes that their familiarity with each other will help when it comes time to show off their skills.

“Him and I being together for our senior season and being able to train together, I think we maybe have an advantage over some receivers and some quarterbacks who will be participating at their pro days.”

While Arnett will take full advantage of the chance to put his talents on display for NFL scouts, he was never really sure he’d be put in the position to do so this weekend.

“I was surprised because I really wasn’t expecting to even go to the combine. It was big to me; it was like getting a present. When I got that invitation, I was like, ‘Wow.’”

The surprise quickly turned to determination, and now Arnett knows how important a strong showing is and he intends to

deliver. His training for over a month now has been to help him get better at the basics of the wide receiver position. He wants to improve his ability to get off the line in press coverage, his first ten yards, and his route running in general.

He is also working hard to build on his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame without losing any of his signature speed.

As much as he anticipates having to prove in terms of his physical abilities, he is also getting set to put his best foot forward in one-on-one meetings with representatives of each team in attendance. He’s not quite sure yet what types of questions he’ll be asked when he sits down with the scouts, but he believes all the right answers are inside him.

“I think it’s more of a getting-to-know-you type of meeting,” he says. “Just like me and you are doing right now, it’s just like an interview. They’ll ask me some questions about myself and who knows me better than me?”

So he will tell the scouts what kind of person they’d be getting if they went with Alric Arnett. He’ll show them what kind of athlete would grace their field. Then hopefully, he’ll see the results of his hard work first hand on the fourth weekend of April.

“You know how they always have those guys who just made a big splash at combine and their stock is going up? I want to be one of those guys. But where and what round, it really doesn’t matter to me. I’ll take it as a blessing just to hear my name called on draft day.”