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NFL-11                4/9/01

They have been timed at 10, 20 and 40 yards. They have done the vertical jump and short shuttle. They have taken the Wonderlic test.

The numbers are in for the NFL Draft class of 2001. And behind the numbers are the stories that tell the human side of the draft.

Some of the interesting notes on the class of ’01:

VICK QUICKS: Sure, everybody knows about MICHAEL VICK. He may well be the No. 1 overall choice in the draft. He quarterbacked Virginia Tech to two bowl appearances in his two years there, the first for the national championship. He finished 20-1 as a starter for the Hokies while becoming only the second quarterback in Va Tech history (BOB SCHWEICKERT) to rush for 1,000 yards (1,202) in a career. Tech alumnus BRUCE SMITH of the Washington Redskins thinks he can "revolutionize" the game. Sure, everybody knows about Michael Vick. But they might not know everything about him – especially the following 20 items:

SHE’S A "SURVIVOR": You’d think that Boston College quarterback TIM HASSELBECK’s biggest claim to fame (besides his father DON playing nine years in the NFL as a tight end) would be that his brother MATT is the new starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. But not in some eyes. Tim’s girlfriend at BC is ELISABETH FILARSKI, one of the still-surviving members on the CBS-TV hit show Survivor. "It’s been weird," says Tim. "It’s funny seeing her on TV and then she’s sitting right next to me also watching herself on TV." And talk about role reversals! "Before when we’d go to a BC basketball game, a couple of kids would come up and I’d sign autographs and she’d just stand there and wait," Tim says. "Only now, I sign maybe 10 and Elisabeth is there for about an hour signing 80 autographs. I mean, she is more big-time than Matt and my dad and me and my younger brother (BC freshman defensive back NATHANIAL) combined!"

FLUENT IN CHINESE: If the NFL ever plays an American Bowl in China, Minnesota defensive end KARON RILEY can well be a spokesman for the league – in Chinese. He speaks it fluently. Riley’s high school in Detroit offered a course in the language, and thinking it would be easy, he signed up. It was far from easy, but he learned he had a natural talent for the language, and has been taking such courses since. Riley estimates that he understood 70 percent of the dialogue in the Oscar-winning Best Foreign Film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

TUIASOSOPO & JOHNNY O: Washington quarterback MARQUES TUIASOSOPO may be the draft-eligible player with the most relatives who have played the sport. Fourteen members of Tuiasosopo’s family have played football in either the NFL or college, including his father MANU with Seattle (1979-83) and San Francisco (1984-86) and cousin JESSE SAPOLU with San Francisco (1983-97). One of Marques’ football-playing relatives -- uncle JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI -- was known for more than his on-field exploits as a running back with four clubs in the NFL from 1953-62 (Chicago Cardinals, Washington, Detroit and Denver). Nicknamed "Johnny O", Olszewski was one of only two players in the post-World War II era to wear the uniform number "0." The other was safety OBERT LOGAN of New Orleans in 1967.

FIANCÉE HELPS HIS LEARNING DISABILITY: From the first grade on, Michigan center DAVID BRANDT has fought a learning disability. He struggled with writing and particularly spelling and reading, but was not afraid to ask for help. Since grammar school, Brandt has had to have tests read to him. In college, he had to meet with professors before each semester to explain his limitations. But this May, he will graduate with a 3.2 GPA and a degree in elementary education. Brandt credits much of his success in the classroom to his fiancée JENNIFER DENEAU, a political science graduate from Michigan who is working on a master’s in health administration. They have known each other since the seventh grade.

"I’ve had this disability my whole life," says Brandt. "It’s something you overcome and you just have to work hard at it. I’ve always been very fortunate with the people around me who have helped me."

LEARNING ABOUT POP AT THE 7-11: RUBIN CARTER was definitely a dad that did not blow his own horn. His son, California defensive end ANDRE CARTER, did not know his defensive-tackle father excelled with the Denver Broncos as a member of the famed "Orange Crush" defense until he wandered down to a local 7-11 one day at the age of 11 to buy a pop -- and there was Pop, pictured on the plastic cup of soda Andre had bought. "Actually, I didn’t realize how good he was," says Andre. "I didn’t realize it until I went to that 7-11. He had his own cup!" Broncos like BARNEY CHAVOUS, RICK UPCHURCH and LOUIE WRIGHT would always be at the house, but, says Andre, "when my father came home from work, I never asked him how work was. My dad (now the New York Jets’ defensive line coach) wasn’t a trash talker." He let 7-11 do it for him.

NORRIS READY FOR " NFL TUESDAYS": Every Tuesday during the NFL season, hundreds of players donate their off-day time to charitable causes in what has become known as "NFL Tuesdays." The league should be able to add one more willing participant this season to the effort in Kansas running back MORAN NORRIS. Every Tuesday at school, Moran donates 90 minutes of his time between classes to the Hillcrest Elementary School and its first-grade children. Norris knows how adults can have a positive effect upon children. He thinks of his father.

"My father (GRASTON) was very strict," Norris says. "I couldn’t drive through the neighborhood with my music on because he didn’t want me disrespecting the neighbors. I missed school on ‘senior skip day’ and he took away the keys to my truck for two weeks. I had to cut the grass, take out the trash, keep my room clean. He had a lot of rules. I didn’t like them at the time, but once I got to college, I saw them all pay off. I’m not late to meetings, I’m not late to weight sessions. And when coaches tell me to do something, I don’t have a problem doing it. My dad made me a better man."

BREES IN A PICKLE: He comes from an impressive lineage of sports-playing forebears. Purdue quarterback DREW BREES’ father, mother, uncle and grandfather all excelled in sports. His grandfather, RAY ATKINS, is the third-winningest high school coach in Texas football history (302-95-13). Drew and his younger brother REID would tag along after grandpa at many of his practices, and hang out at his ranch 110 miles east of Austin eating up grandpa’s football knowledge -- and grandma’s home cooking.

"They loved my cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread and homemade pickles," says VIRGINIA ATKINS. "I always tell them those are the three things they’re going to remember about grandma. They could sit down and eat a quart of pickles. They could eat a whole pan of cinnamon rolls in about 10 minutes."

THE MANNING INFLUENCE: Two of the top-rated quarterbacks in the draft decided on their own to come back to football after flings in professional baseball. But it didn’t hurt that in their time in the minors, the two had conversations with Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING about their first love, football.

Florida State Heisman Trophy-winner CHRIS WEINKE, playing for the Knoxville Smokies in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system, was visited before a game in 1995 by Manning, then a sophomore at Tennessee. A mutual friend had suggested the two meet. Manning told Weinke how much fun college football was, a conversation Weinke would recall frequently. And LSU’s JOSH BOOTY, playing on the road in Indianapolis in 1998 with the Florida Marlins’ Triple-A Charlotte affiliate, learned first-hand how it was to play in the NFL in a sit-down with then-Colts rookie and fellow-Louisianaian Manning, whom Booty had beaten out for prep player of the year honors in 1993.

DRAFTNIKS – UCLA WIDE RECEIVER FREDDIE MITCHELL has made use of his spare time in Los Angeles by doing some acting, appearing in the USA Network series Pacific Blue. He has also met numerous actors and actresses, such as ELIZABETH HURLEY, who Mitchell rates as "bedazzling"……THIS GUY THINKS YOU’RE GREAT: If you’re a punter, you can’t receive higher praise than that from "punters’ punter" RAY GUY. And that’s exactly what California’s NICK HARRIS heard from the master himself at Guy’s punting camp when he was a freshman. "Dang," drawled Guy, "you look like me!" Harris’ high leg follow-through impressed Guy. "He almost knocked himself out with his leg kick," he said. "I know he dazed himself a couple of times"……HE WAS RECRUITED BY NOTRE DAME, but how could MISSOURI defensive end JUSTIN SMITH not go to Mizzou? Both parents, his sister and grandfather and several aunts attended the school……TCU RUNNING BACK LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON believes in education. He filmed a five-minute video this year entitled "Teachers Are The Real Heroes" that was distributed to 300 Dallas-Fort Worth-area schools…… DAN & DAN: The father of Miami linebacker DAN MORGAN – DAN, SR. – was a limo driver/bodyguard for another Pennsylvania native – former Miami Dolphins quarterback DAN MARINO. Dan, Jr., known for his ferocious linebacking skills, was nicknamed "Danimal" by his Hurricane teammates – part Dan, part animal…… CLASSICS & CLIFFS: Arizona State tight end TODD HEAP, whose mother’s cousin is former Dallas Cowboys quarterback DANNY WHITE, listens to classical music. But he’s not completely sedentary off the field. Last summer, Heap partook in some cliff-diving, like from 65 feet up into a lake in Box Canyon near Payson, Arizona. "What, are you trying to kill me?" exclaimed former Sun Devils head coach BRUCE SNYDER when he heard of Heap’s exploit……WALK –ONs: In many ways, they’re the most impressive of all the prospects of the class of ’01 – players who began their college careers as walk-ons. Miami wide receiver SANTANA MOSS, who set the Hurricanes’ career record with 2,546 yards receiving, was a walk-on. And Arizona State linebacker ADAM ARCHULETA, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, was a walk-on. "I wasn’t recruited at all as a senior (out of Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona)," says Archuleta. "Nobody asked for film or anything. I got overlooked. But I’ve known ever since I was a little kid that I was meant to play football. I knew something like that wasn’t going to hold me back."