During the time between the end of one season and the beginning of the subsequent spring workouts, players often have more freedom in their schedules when it comes to workouts. Class schedules can dictate whether players work out in the morning or the afternoon, and some players take the time off from workouts in order to focus on academics, if needed.

Offensive lineman Bryan Collins said he weighs the same as he did during the season, but said he is as lean as he ever has been at SMU (photo by SMU athletics).

Some of the players who spend the most time in the SMU weight room, however, are the graduated seniors who are hoping to continue playing professionally. Some, like defensive end Margus Hunt, are projected high draft choices, but many are training in preparation for SMU’s Pro Day, when scouts and coaches from around the NFL will converge at SMU to measure, weigh, time and test players in order to help determine which are worth draft choices or invitations to camp as free agents.

To that end, several seniors are training as hard as they ever have in hopes of catching the eye of an NFL scout. For some, the intense regimen includes significant changes — not only in the effort they put out, but the fuel they put in their bodies.

Linebacker Ja’Gared Davis admits that he has not always adhered to the strictest routine of making smart food choices, knowing that his metabolism cranks at such a high rate that he could burn up whatever he ate and turn it into energy for the practice field or in games.

“When I got here (as a freshman), I was (about) 195, 200 pounds,” Davis said. “I was eating everything I could, trying to gain weight. I wasn’t worried about eating too much. I was trying to put on weight any way I could.”

Offensive lineman Bryan Collins also arrived undersized for his position, and set about bulking up through his work in the weight room and the cafeteria. But with Pro Day less than two weeks away, he and Davis know they are auditioning for potential employers. The preparation they have done since SMU’s win over Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl has reflected that focus. Collins said he weighs about the same he did throughout his senior season — 301 pounds, to be exact — but that he is as lean as he has been since he arrived at SMU.

“Chicken and fish, almost every day,” he said. “Right now, you don’t have football to stress you out. During the season, you come over for practice, eat breakfast, go to class, and sometimes you just don’t want to cook something, so it’s easy to just pick something up. But now we don’t have that (football) in our schedule. We have more time to be smart about what we eat, and we know now is the time to make a good impression.”

Davis said he also would pick up food on the way home at the end of the day, but has changed to healthier choices and is trying not to eat late at night. Even before improving his diet, Davis said he feels confident about how he’ll test on Pro Day.

“I know I’ll test decent,” he said. “If I went to the Combine and train like those guys (Hunt, running back Zach Line and receiver Darius Johnson) did, I’d test ridiculous in the broad (jump), vertical (jump) — stuff like that. But I’m eating right and working hard, so I’ll test a little better than I would have.

“I’ll put up decent numbers, but what I’ve done the last four years … it comes down to that. The eye in the sky (video cameras) don’t lie. You can tell me all day that I’m this or I’m that, but all you have to do is turn on the film and see that I can get to the ball, I play with emotion, how I play the game, my technique — it’s all on film because I did it all on the field.”

On the field, Davis started for three-and-a-half seasons, earning first-team All-Conference USA honors as a season and playing in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game. His quickness and explosiveness allowed him to make plays on defense and special teams, collecting 20.5 sacks in his career (the second-highest total in SMU history) and scoring touchdowns via interception, returned fumble recovery and blocked kick return.

All of the seniors hoping to play after college know that training for Pro Day is different than training to play in games. A couple of inches in the jumps or a couple of tenths of a second in the 40-yard dash or the assorted shuttle runs can mean the difference between a team spending a draft choice on a player or inviting him to camp as a free agent … which also could mean a financial difference in a player’s contract.

“Some guys always eat healthy food,” Collins said. “Blake McJunkin, Steve Nelson, Rishaad Wimbley. We ate the way we needed to to play, but this is different. This is about testing well, and we hope it pays off.”

Davis said he doesn’t expect his eating habits to slack off too much if he makes it to the NFL.

“They feed you,” he said. “Teams have a big buffet for the players, and they know what you eat. They give you healthy food, because once you get there, you’re an investment for the team. It’s in their best interest to make sure you eat right, so I’ll do that, and I’ll eat smart at home, too.”