INDIANAPOLIS: University of Akron wide receiver Jerome Lane Jr. already has a plan for his touchdown celebrations in the NFL.
“I have to hang on the goal post,” Lane joked Friday during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. “That’s just a family [tradition].”
Would the Akron native and Firestone High School graduate accept the inevitable fine from the NFL?
“Give me a couple years to become a veteran where I have that kind of clout to do that,” Lane quipped. “But I have to dunk on the goal post. I have to.”
Lane has seen the footage of his father, former NBA player Jerome Lane Sr., shatter the backboard with a dunk at the University of Pittsburgh in 1988 “like a million and one, a million and two times.” He’s also heard broadcaster Bill Raftery’s famous “send it in, Jerome!” call just as many times.
Now the younger Lane is focusing on creating his own legendary moments, and the combine represents a significant step on his journey toward becoming a professional athlete.
He is the first Zips player to participate in the combine since 2007, when quarterback Luke Getsy and guard Andy Alleman received opportunities to impress NFL coaches and executives at the event. Former Zips linebacker Jatavis Brown was a combine snub last year but was later drafted in the fifth round by the San Diego Chargers, who moved to Los Angeles.
“This whole thing has been surreal,” Lane, a redshirt junior at UA, said. “I still don’t believe that it’s happening right now. I feel like I’m just kind of going through the motions right now. It still hasn’t hit me yet.”
“Coming from the MAC [Mid-American Conference], being here, I didn’t think I was going to be here. It’s crazy. So I’m just enjoying it. I’m just having fun. I’m just doing what got me here — having fun.”
But if Lane could do it all over again, he would be at next year’s combine instead of this one.
“I would have stayed [at Akron] ’cause I would have been in way better position to get drafted [next year],” said Lane, who’s taking online classes and plans to graduate from UA with a degree in sports management in August. “I would have learned a lot more, and I would have put up equal or better stats to put me in a better position than I am in now. I’m in a good position, but I would’ve been in a better position.”
Lane’s logic is understandable. He has just two seasons as a college receiver under his belt after beginning his career with the Zips as an outside linebacker/defensive end and later moving to safety.
Although Lane started all 12 games last season and compiled 62 catches for 1,018 yards and six touchdowns, he still has a steep learning curve.
NFLDraftScout.com doesn’t project Lane to be drafted, but a strong combine could change that perception. He’ll participate in on-field workouts Saturday and hopes to run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 or 4.5 seconds.
“What I’m trying to prove to teams that I belong in this league, that I have a chip on my shoulder and I’m coming to take a position,” Lane, who met with the Browns at the combine, said. “I’m versatile. You can put me anywhere, offense, defense, special teams. It doesn’t matter, so wherever.”
He can play basketball, too, as his pedigree would suggest. But at 6-foot-2 and 226 pounds, football seemed to be the better career choice for the son of the former Cavaliers forward.
“I tried to break a lot of backboards,” Lane conceded, “but I couldn’t.”
His future employer won’t care as long as he can score touchdowns.