NFL prospect Joejuan Williams takes a deep breath, focuses on the task at hand and shoves a large bite of cauliflower in his mouth.

“Cauliflower is the worst. I hate it. It’s so bad,” said Williams, a former Vanderbilt and Father Ryan standout preparing for the NFL Draft, which will be in his Nashville hometown April 25-27. “But I have to be attuned to what my body needs. You can’t put regular gas in a Lamborghini.”

Williams, a self-described “candy connoisseur, had to cut his favorites to get into the best shape of his life during around-the-clock training for the NFL Scouting Combine, where he will participate in on-field workouts Monday in Indianapolis. That means he’s replaced his beloved Skittles, Mike & Ike and Starburst for a heavy dose of vegetables, including — insert gag sound — cauliflower.

“That was a struggle at the beginning,” Williams said. “But I started putting teriyaki over all my vegetables to get them down. Now I’m great at it. I’ve got it down pat.”

Draft prep started after Vanderbilt’s bowl game

Williams, a 6-foot-3, 208-pounder, can joke about tweaks to his diet because he was already a fine-tuned athlete and one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL Draft.

Vanderbilt lost 45-38 to Baylor on Dec. 27. Two days later, Williams announced he was forgoing his senior season to enter the draft. And he’s been at the EXOS training facility in Phoenix for nearly two months, preparing for the combine and individual workouts for NFL teams.

“I get in early and get out late, and Vanderbilt taught me to do all those little extra things,” Williams said. “This is like an 8-to-5 job for me. I’m pretty busy. But I’m doing something I love, so I really don’t count the hours.”

What about the mock drafts?

Williams was an All-SEC cornerback, leading the conference in pass breakups (14) and ranking second in interceptions (4). When Williams announced his decision to turn pro, NFL Network analyst Ian Rapoport tweeted that Williams received a grade in the top two rounds by the NFL Advisory Committee.

Draft projections can vary widely. Williams’ big frame at cornerback is a perfect fit for some teams, but not for others. Private workouts and the combine can win over some scouts and sour others. The draft is unpredictable, so Williams has paid little attention to his projected draft stock.

“Mock drafts? Naw, I’m not really worried about mock drafts,” Williams said. “You can be projected as a first-rounder or a fifth-rounder, and none of that matters when draft day comes. You are just trying to put yourself out there in the best light possible, so teams will fall in love with you and hopefully pick you on that day.

“I just want to have every edge, so I can be at my best. That means eating my vegetables.”

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Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.