Jay Bromley needed to clear his head Tuesday night. With the NFL Scouting Combine just four days away, the former Syracuse defensive tackle was preparing to put a lifetime worth of work on the line.

So he went to see “About Last Night” in an empty movie theatre by himself. It was the second time he had seen it, but he knew the film’s humor would help calm his nerves.

“It’s something that I like to do to get away and clear my mind and just get myself relaxed a little bit,” Bromley said. “I play football and it’s just all a part of the process. Just some stress relief.”

On Saturday, Bromley and his former SU teammate Jerome Smith, who have each been training separately in Florida, will travel to Indianapolis for the Combine. Bromley is a senior defensive tackle who led Syracuse in tackles for loss (14.5) and sacks (10). Smith is a junior running back who finished with a team-leading 12 touchdowns — a nine-touchdown improvement from the year before — and 914 rushing yards.

The event is a grueling three-day stretch where NFL scouts and analysts evaluate the talent, potential and personalities of the athletes before the NFL Draft in April.

“For a guy like me, this is my dream since I was a little kid,” Smith said. “It’s a long time coming. I’m just ready to get there and embrace all of it and take it all in. I’m ready to show people what I can do.”

One thing Smith can do well is run.

The 6-foot, 226-pound back said he’s anxious to showcase his new 40-yard dash time. His speed has been a huge part of his training regimen, and while he thinks evaluators are looking for a 4.6 out of him, he expects better.

“That’s one of the main areas teams want to see what I can do,” Smith said. “I worked on it a lot, and I think people will be surprised with what I can do.”

Like Smith, Bromley has also worked on his speed heading into the combine. For the 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive tackle, though, the skill set to make him a better runner is slightly different.

Anthony Hobgood, the trainer at EXOS — formerly known as Athletes’ Performance — that’s been working with Bromley on his speed, said he needs horsepower and efficiency.

In other words, power and technique are the two things Bromley has improved on since starting his training on Jan. 2.

“I’ve seen Jason improve his technique, his form, his efficiency,” Hobgood said. “He’s improved greatly. His horsepower has improved. He’s got stronger and more powerful.”

Both players said they’re nervous heading into the event, but neither is worried about exposing weaknesses. Smith said he’s spoken with other players who are competing, and his goal is to focus only on himself.

The novelty, though, still isn’t lost on him. He knows he’ll be competing against the best of the best this weekend.

“I think it’s an opportunity for players from every conference and all different types of walks of life to get a chance to come into one place and show what you’ve been practicing and working really, really hard for,” Smith said.

Smith is projected to go in the seventh round or undrafted by CBS sports — and is ranked as the 21st best running back and 276th best overall prospect.

CBS has Bromley going in the sixth or seventh round and as the 21st best defensive tackle, and 226th prospect overall.

Neither player is lighting up the draft boards right now, but both plan to change that this week.

Said Bromley: “Hopefully I can make at least one person like me enough to take me as early as possible. I don’t really put no projections on it.

“I’m just going to try and make whatever team picks me the luckiest team in the league.”

Published on February 20, 2014 at 2:55 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3