Dowayne Davis and Joe Fields, former defensive backfield mates for Syracuse, did not receive an invitation to February’s NFL Scout Combine. Their chance to impress NFL scouts was Tuesday in the Carrier Dome in the university’s annual Pro Day workouts for SU senior prospects and other senior standouts from New York schools.

The one obstacle came a few hours away in Chestnut Hill, Mass., where Boston College held its Pro Day for quarterback Matt Ryan, a candidate for the No. 1 overall selection in next month’s draft.

BC originally scheduled its Pro Day for Monday, so SU coordinated a Tuesday event. When BC’s plans changed, scouts who would have been at the Dome traveled to BC instead. That left a fewer-than-normal 12-15 NFL teams with representatives at SU’s event.

The clear attractions were Davis and Fields, who performed testing drills such as the 40-yard dash, broad jump and long jump for the first time in front of NFL scouts.

It was also an opportunity for SU’s top two draft candidates – linebacker Jameel McClain and receiver Taj Smith – to participate in drills outside of the high-pressure Combine held in Indianapolis each year for the best prospects.

SU’s other seniors, who are unlikely to be drafted but have an outside shot at signing for an NFL team’s training camp, used Tuesday to put their names in the scouts’ books.

‘This is a day for Taj and Jameel to improve, this a day for Dowayne and Joe to be noticed, this a day for all our other guys to make a mark,’ said Will Hicks, SU’s strength and conditioning coach.

That appeared to happen. Each scout came with his own stopwatch and measuring tapes – a New York Giants scout and Indianapolis Colts scout patrolled the finish line of the 40-yard dash – and SU players reported impressive results.

Davis said he was in the low 4.4s, a noteworthy time for a safety/cornerback number. He ran two dashes in two different sneakers after scouts instructed him to switch from a track shoe to a football shoe. His time didn’t change, although he purchased the ‘waffle bottom’ sneakers specifically for the event, setting him back $108. He was particularly pleased about his performance, especially after the Combine snub.

‘I trained with a chip on my shoulder,’ Davis said. ‘If they don’t think I’m good enough, wait until they see what I can do. Put some weight on, get stronger, get faster, get quicker, jump higher.’

Fields, battling a quad injury and an illness, could not do all the individual drills but was satisfied with his results despite the setbacks. He was in the ‘4.5 range’ on both of his 40-yard dashes and cleared the 10-foot benchmark in his broad jump. Fields, who projects as a safety and special teams player in the NFL, tallied a 33-inch vertical jump.

The most impressive 40-yard dash times came from Smith, who actually ran three dashes instead of the normal two. Smith ran a 4.39 on the first run, a blazing number even for a receiver. During his second run, scouts recorded him between 4.39, 4.49 and 4.52. Because of the wide discrepancy, scouts asked Smith to run again. The third dash was timed at 4.40 seconds. The times surprised even Smith, who was hoping to run a 4.50.

The improvement was the result of fixing the first 10 yards, which is the most important part of the 40-yard dash. Hicks worked with Smith by working on the weight distribution of his feet. Smith also used bands and tubing to work on firing his hip flexor to add power at the beginning of the run.

‘I knew I could run, but today I definitely surprised myself,’ Smith said.

McClain’s main focus was the 40-yard dash after recording a 4.76 at the Combine. He said he ran a 4.55, 4.56. He also showed off a trimmer frame – the former defensive end is down to 240 pounds from 252 pounds.

The other SU players who participated included Rice Moss, Carroll Madison, Jeremy Sellers, Eugene Newsome, Jawad Nesheiwat, Kyle Bell, Larry Norton, Ian Hammond, Marvin McCall, Lee Williams, Cornelius Campbell and Arthur Kapalanga. Among the 16 non-SU players who participated was former Orange fullback Breyone Evans, who transferred to Massachusetts.

The Super Bowl-champion Giants was the only team with two representatives – a scout and a defensive backs coach. Other teams in attendance included the Colts, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, among others.

‘Considering Boston College had their pro day with Ryan,’ Hicks said, ‘it was a very a good turnout for us.’

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Published on March 18, 2008 at 12:00 pm