NFL-'Are you a dog or a cat?' Welcome to the NFL Scouting Combine

Feb 26 : Over the next four days in Indianapolis, 319 elite prospects will sprint, jump, lift weights and field bizarre questions at the NFL Scouting Combine, a televised audition before league decision-makers and a media throng rivaled only by the Super Bowl.

It just may be the most unforgiving job interview in sports.

Before top draft-eligible college players even get a chance to showcase their talents to all 32 NFL clubs through a variety of drills, they are measured and weighed, the latter while wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts, and undergo a battery of medical exams as doctors and trainers seek to assess injury risk.

"The joke is that if you are not injured before you come to the combine you might well be after 15 doctors pull on your limbs," famed U.S. sports agent Leigh Steinberg, best known as the inspiration for Tom Cruise's character in the film "Jerry Maguire", told Reuters.

PIVOTAL STEP IN JOURNEY TO NFL

The combine is a pivotal step in the journey from amateur athlete to professional, providing NFL teams with one of the best opportunities to evaluate prospects prior to the April 23-25 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh where the first overall pick could sign a life-changing four-year contract in the $50 million range.

And so this week the players will try to boost their draft stock with strong results in a variety of tests, including the 40-yard dash that is the marquee event of the week as prospects sprint at top speed with their future careers and earnings hanging in the balance.

Among the other events are vertical leaps, broad jumps, 225-pound bench press and position-specific drills.

"The testables are relied on to assess players, even though they don't always correlate with game performance," said Steinberg,