Draft prospects wait

• By SCOTT RABALAIS
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Apr 24, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:35 a.m.

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They went through Pro Day. They visited the White House. Some of them have traveled to NFL cities for individual workouts.

Mostly though, LSU’s draft-eligible seniors sit and wait. Wait for the NFL draft to come this weekend and for their phone to ring.

Hopefully.

“The hay’s in the barn,” former Tiger strong safety Craig Steltz said Wednesday. “There’s nothing you can do about it now.”

They wait, and try to fill their days that used to be filled with football with things to take their minds off the waiting.

“All I do is work out, relax and play golf,” quarterback Matt Flynn said. “It’s been nice.”

Not as nice as it will be when the names start being called Saturday in New York.

“I’m not nervous,” cornerback Chevis Jackson said. “I’m more anxious. It’s been a long three months.”

LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey’s name is expected to be one of the first ones called.

With the Miami Dolphins already having come to terms with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, Dorsey is projected to be either the No. 2 pick to the St. Louis Rams or the No. 3 choice of the Atlanta Falcons.

Recent media reports have the New Orleans Saints trying to deal their way up from their current No. 10 first-round pick, though whether their target is Dorsey’s territory remains speculation.

Unlike last year, when JaMarcus Russell went with the first pick to the Oakland Raiders followed in the first round by three more Tigers (LaRon Landry, Dwayne Bowe and Craig “Buster” Davis), Day 1 of the 2008 draft isn’t expected to have quite such a purple and gold tint.

Wide receiver Early Doucet is projected as a second-rounder. With only the first two rounds held Saturday — until this year it was the first three — that means most of the prospective LSU draft picks will have to wait at least until Sunday.