During this weekend's NFL Draft, you'll hear familiar names like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young called early in the first round.
But for MSU fans, there could be other recognizable names in this year's draft. While no MSU players will be selected high in the draft like Charles Rogers in 2003 or T.J. Duckett in 2002, some have been working out and preparing in hopes of being drafted in Sunday's later rounds.
One such player is safety Eric Smith. Smith, who led the Spartans with 101 tackles in 2005, expects to be drafted somewhere on Sunday, when rounds 4-7 are conducted.
To put himself in the best position for the draft, Smith worked out at a training center in Indianapolis to prepare for various workouts. At MSU's Pro Day in March, with many scouts in attendance, he turned in times of 4.60 and 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He also recorded a 40-inch vertical leap at February's NFL Scouting Combine.
"At the combine I hit the numbers I was trying to get," said Smith, who also had a workout for the Cleveland Browns and visited several other teams. "At the Pro Day, I talked to a few teams after that, and I thought they were impressed."
In today's NFL, a good performance at predraft workouts can move players up significantly in the draft.
"Different teams put different emphasis on some things," Smith said. "I heard some things like, 'If you don't run a low 4.5 (in the 40-yard dash), we can't draft you until the later rounds.' Other teams just say to run below a 4.6 and it's fast enough."
While impressive workouts can improve a player's draft position, center Chris Morris thinks his in-game play is what matters most.
"I definitely knew (the workouts) are important, but I think the four years of me playing is what's going to mean the most on draft day," he said.
Despite that, the 305-pound offensive lineman trained in Pittsburgh prior to MSU's Pro Day and saw his numbers improve.
Morris, who also has experience at guard and at snapping for point after attempts and punts, believes his versatility will help him in being an attractive pick for NFL teams. He's had workouts with the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks and has talked with other teams. Despite his contact with many teams, Morris can't gauge when he'll get selected.
"Anywhere I get drafted will be fine with me," he said. "I think I was good enough to be a draftable player, but if that doesn't happen I won't be too disappointed."
That same mentality is held by wide receiver Kyle Brown, who hauled in 36 catches for 546 yards and two touchdowns last season.
"It doesn't even matter (where I'm drafted), as long as I get an opportunity to show what I can do and prove a lot of people wrong," he said.
At the receiver position, part of proving people wrong starts with turning in fast 40 times. By registering times of 4.46 and 4.54 at MSU's Pro Day, Brown impressed scouts by running faster than expected and attracted the attention of prolific passing teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles.
Smith, Morris and Brown all know they have areas of their game they need to work on to be successful NFL players. For Smith, it's covering slot receivers — something he wasn't asked to do often at MSU. Brown admits he must catch the ball more consistently and Morris, although versatile, says he must get better at all the positions he's able to play.
Despite these weaknesses, the three plan to spend the weekend at home waiting to get that call from a team or see their name pop up on the TV.
Four other Spartans — defensive tackles Domata Peko and Brandon McKinney, offensive tackle Stefon Wheeler and cornerback Jaren Hayes — worked out at MSU's Pro Day and also hope to be drafted by an NFL team this weekend.
What all MSU draft hopefuls share in common is uncertainty. None are guaranteed to be selected in the NFL Draft. For Brown, he just wants to continue playing football but has more important things to celebrate this weekend than the draft.
"I'll go to the team that gives me a chance to show what I can do and gives me the opportunity to play the sport I've been playing for a long time and make a job out of it," he said.
