At the NFL draft tomorrow at Madison Square Garden, several former Penn State football players have the chance to hear their names called and take the next step in their respective football careers.

None are likely to go early, but the expectation is that at least a couple should be picked during the seven-round, two-day draft.

Of the Penn Staters eligible, fullback Sean McHugh, tight end Matt Kranchick, cornerback Richard Gardner, kicker David Kimball, wide out Tony Johnson and offensive lineman Chris McKelvy are the most likely to be selected.

Depending on the reports, the first Nittany Lions' alumnus to be taken by a professional team is Gardner in the third round. He said he has been hearing the most from the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens.

"Well, it's been crazy getting ready after the season," Gardner said. "Getting ready for the Senior Bowl, after the Senior Bowl getting ready for the combine and getting ready for pro day. I just can't wait until [tomorrow]."

Gardner came to Penn State as a walk-on and then earned a scholarship before graduating. The same happened to Kranchick, as he arrived at Happy Valley as a walk-on prospect but ultimately was awarded a scholarship from the coaching staff.

There is a distinct possibility that both Gardner and Kranchick will be the first two Penn State players taken in the draft, yet both started their college football careers off without a scholarship.

"It's pretty cool to think that two walk-ons could be the first two drafted from Penn State," Kranchick said. "This was a different situation though. Our year, we only had eight or nine scholarships. I was basically being told that I would be a scholarship kid and that [the Penn State coaching staff] was going to try to get me a scholarship in the spring. Rich, me and Joe [Iorio] were taking official visits while we were in high school. That was a really small class, so I think that's one of the reasons. Even Casey Williams and Mike Lukac turned out to be great players."

Kranchick said that the latest prediction he heard has him going to the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round. In addition to speaking with the Chargers, within the last week Kranchick has interviewed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and Falcons. The interest teams have in him comes as no surprise to Kranchick, despite starting his senior campaign as a dark horse candidate to take over the tight end position for the Lions.

"I knew I had the ability to go pro," Kranchick said. "I had a pretty good spring last year. There were a lot of people talking about me in that first game of this season. After the Capital One Bowl game I thought it would take off."

All of the draft-bound Lions have been able to stay in touch since the end of the 2003 season, even though many have them have been traveling the country to work out for teams.

"I'm tight with all of the guys; that's Penn State," Gardner said. "We're all family. We talk to each other every day. We're just hoping for the best."

Kranchick reiterated those statements.

"Me and McHugh have lived together for the last few years," Kranchick said. "I want to see him do well. I talked to Rich [Gardner]. It's kind of one of those things where we're all busy though."

"Penn State didn't necessarily prepare me for the next level," Gardner said. "Penn State prepared me for life. There are things that we as players take for granted. For myself, graduating and getting my economics degree was important."

After receiving his degree from Penn State, Gardner was offered a job from the Chicago branch of the All State Insurance Company. Not surprisingly, Gardner deferred the job in order to pursue his professional football career.