For many players, the time leading up to Pro Day is one of jitters and nerves. They know they have to be in peak condition and perform at a high level just to catch the attention of NFL scouts.

That’s not the case for SMU defensive end Margus Hunt. The former track star, despite his relative inexperience on the football field, learned his new sport and became one of the most talked-about participants in the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis, when he tested at levels rarely seen for a defensive end. Hunt bench pressed the NFL-standard 38 times, tying for the top total among all defensive linemen. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.60 seconds, tying for the third-fastest time among all defensive linemen. He finished seventh among defensive linemen with a broad jump of 10-feet-1-inch and tied for seventh among defensive linemen in the vertical jump with a leap of 34.5 inches.

SMU defensive end Margus Hunt was among the most talked-about participants at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis (photo by SMU athletics).

Hunt, who before the Combine was relatively anonymous outside of Dallas, instantly became a household name. National media outlets started writing his story, while NFL.com analysts drooled over his performance. Had there been any doubt beforehand that he would go high in the NFL’s April draft, Hunt’s performance erased any lingering questions.

“Awesome,” Hunt said when asked about his performance in Indianapolis, adding that he “absolutely” exceeded his expectations going in. “The place where I was training (IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.) got me ready for the whole process. The nutrition, the coaching, the lifting, the mental training … they had me ready.”

Because of his standout performance in Indianapolis, Hunt will not test in next week’s SMU Pro Day, when scouts and coaches descend upoin the Hilltop to measure, weigh, time and test the SMU players hoping for a crack at the NFL.

“I’m just going to do the position drills,” Hunt said. “They have a bunch of drills designed to show how you rush the passer, how quickly you can get up off the ground … that type of thing. But my numbers from the Combine were good. I’m going with those.”

At the Combine, Hunt showed he is as good an athlete as any defensive end in the country, and took part in an interview process he compared to speed dating.

“It was really strange,” he said, “because you got 15 minutes with each team to answer questions or get up on the board and explain your defense, and then someone in the hall blew an airhorn, and it was off to the next team.”

Hunt met with 10 teams in Indianapolis: the Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. He said the teams appeared to be impressed with his understanding of the defense, including one interview in which he was shown the first part of a play during his senior season and then asked to explain the defense called on the play. After he successfully detailed the offensive play and the protection called, his assignment and the assignment of several of his teammates, the coach moved to the next play, only to have Hunt ask that the rest of the play be shown, because it ended with him getting a sack. The coach asked how he remembered that, and Hunt provided more detail about the play, so the coach had the play shown in its entirety, and nodded his approval to the scouts and assistant coaches around him as Hunt did indeed finish off the play by planting the opposing quarterback.

Players like Hunt who are expected to go in the early rounds of the draft represent huge investments for teams, and not surprisingly, the teams want extensive information on each player’s medical history. To that end, Hunt went through five MRIs to give his potential employers an updated look at his knees, shoulder, back (he missed a game and part of another in 2012 with a bulging disc in his back) and a toe that bothered him toward the end of the regular season.

The Combine is the NFL’s second-biggest offseason event (after the draft itself), complete with on-site TV lights for the NFL Network, swarms of media from around the country, and of course, coaches and scouts from every NFL team, but Hunt said he never felt nervous … although he did acknowledge a couple of moments that drove home the magnitude of where he was.

“I walked into my interview with the Denver Broncos and met John Elway,” Hunt said. “The John Elway — that was kind of surreal.

“Then, one of the funniest moments was when I met with the New England Patriots. I walked in and Bill Belichick was sitting there in his hoodie, with his computer in his lap. He looked up at me and said, ‘so you’re the Margus Hunt I’ve been hearing about for four years!’ I didn’t know how he had heard about me for four years, but then I remembered that he knew June Jones, so I realized (Jones) must have told him about me. That was pretty cool.”