It's grotesquely fitting that it turned out this way for Shawn Mayer and Gus Felder.

Mayer, the Big Ten's leading tackler last season, and Felder, the best offensive lineman at Penn State, will both be second-day picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.

They'll show up at their first training camp as underdogs, in some ways physically inferior to the players they're battling, and as relative unknowns.

It won't be easy making it on a team let alone earning any significant playing time.

Nothing will be given to them in the NFL.

And that suits them both fine.

Neither had an easy career at Penn State. Mayer tore his ACL just before the 2000 season while competing for the free safety job.

Felder's story is well-known. He was a partial-qualifier out of high school and had to sit out his freshman year and make grades to be eligible for the team. Then, last summer, in order to retain his final year of eligibility, he had to complete 12 credits to graduate.

Then there's the matter of his wife. And two daughters. And little brother. That's all the people you'd have found living in the Felder residence in State College last fall.

Simply put, these two players are pure college football success stories. Tired of the gambling and sexual assault and drug possession? Look here.

And the dandiest thing about it is, these guys will need another level of heart and dedication and character if they want to succeed at the next level.

Truth: the NFL combines and the pro scouting days at colleges around the country are nothing more than meat markets. All that matters is that a guy runs fast, lifts a lot and runs around cones quickly.

But, as Mayer says, "You don't get paid for running 40s."

Mayer made a name for himself at Penn State by always being around the ball and being incredibly tough.

At 6 foot and just over 200 pounds, Mayer is not ideally sized to play safety in the NFL, though his agent, John Persch, says that not one scout has mentioned Mayer's size.

"There hasn't been any sort of a knock on him in that regard," Persch said. "I think there is a lot of knowledge out there about what type of kid Shawn is, and that is something the personnel people put a lot of faith in."

Some teams wanted to get to know Mayer more and have flown him in for personal interviews. Each team is allowed 20 such interviews, which take course over a day and consist of a physical and meetings with coaches.

Mayer has already visited San Diego, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

"They wouldn't invite you if they didn't have interest," he said.

The level of interest is the question. Persch sees Mayer going between the third and sixth rounds, though it is difficult to tell.

"All this pre-draft stuff is a big love-fest," he said. "The truth is, no team has their draft board set yet, and they won't until they have to pick. It all depends on needs."

Whoever drafts Mayer will be getting not only a "good old fashioned football player," according to Persch, but an all-around good guy.

Here's a warm and fuzzy story from Mayer, whose bald head and black eye paint made him one of the scariest players ever to wear Blue and White.

"We were in Hawaii for the Hula Bowl and had been sitting near the pool awhile," Persch says. "I hadn't seen Shawn in a while, so I went down to the beach to find him. It looks like he is writing something in the sand. I go over and it says 'I miss you.' "

What was the message for?

Mayer took a picture of it and took it home to Penn State women's gymnast Nikki Bongiovanni, his girlfriend.

Felder, who grew up in Philadelphia and was eventually sent to a job-training school in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is expected to be picked sometime during the second day. While he has considerable physical tools -- he is 6-5, 320 pounds and has surprising quickness -- his game is not as rounded as it needs to be to make and immediate impact at the next level.