First round, second round or any round, the NFL Draft could signal the materialization of longtime dreams for several University of Miami football players.
The draft begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, with perhaps as many as three Hurricanes players being selected amid the initial two rounds.
Defensive end Calais Campbell, safety Kenny Phillips and linebacker Tavares Gooden soon will know whether the beginning of the rest of their lives starts Saturday. Others -- Gooden, defensive end Vegas Franklin, wide receiver Darnell Jenkins, quarterback Kyle Wright and offensive lineman Derrick Morse among them -- could be drafted during Rounds 3 through 7 on Sunday.
''It doesn't really matter how high I get drafted,'' Campbell said from Denver. ``What matters is what I do once I get there. I want to be one of the best who ever played the game. It's kind of cool to see your son go to the NFL and achieve the dream he's been bragging about his whole life.''
Added Campbell, who, like Phillips, left after his junior year: ``It was hard to walk away because I bleed orange and green.''
Campbell and Phillips are projected to go in the first or second rounds, with Gooden projected as a second- or third-rounder. A first-round UM selection would mark an NCAA-record 14th consecutive year that the Hurricanes have had at least one player chosen in that round.
''I'm pretty excited,'' said Phillips, a Miami Carol City High graduate. ``It's something you've been dreaming about ever since you were small. Just to know you're almost there is amazing.''
Phillips, who will be with his family Saturday at The Shore Club in Miami Beach, said he stays away from all the hype and projections.
''I don't read it. I don't watch it on TV. It means nothing,'' he said. ``Those are just people's opinions. They're not the GMs [general managers]. They're not the coaches.
``Even if they talk positive about you, that doesn't mean it's going to happen.''
Gooden, who will spend Saturday and Sunday in Fort Lauderdale with his family, said he recently worked out for the Dolphins, Bears, Steelers, Ravens, Packers and Colts. He also flew to Detroit, New York [Giants] and San Francisco for interviews.
''I've watched those pre-draft shows since I was a kid, and I just want my name up there,'' Gooden said. ``Even if I have to get another job, I can say I did all my time [five years] at the University of Miami, and I did the best I could.''
Gooden said he will be nervous Saturday, as will likely be his teammates.
''You just have to hope and do everything you can to set things up right for yourself,'' he said.
``We're all cheering each other on. I want those guys to go as high as me.''
