They Hope for Call From NFL Draft Board : Slaughter Is the Top Prospect Among 4 Hopefuls From San Diego State

They have been tested by pro football scouts in everything from the 40-yard dash to ability to agility.

Next comes marketability, the ultimate question for San Diego State’s Webster Slaughter, Vince Warren, Chris O’Brien and Dan Knight.

Specifically, each player must wonder when--or whether--he will be selected in Tuesday’s NFL draft.

Slaughter could bet his standing as the fourth-leading receiver in the nation last year that he will be picked. But for the other three, it’s a waiting game that may last through the night Tuesday.

“I’m a little scared,” Warren said. “I don’t like to even think about it. I don’t know what’ll happen. I’m just trying to keep my mind on school and working out, instead of thinking about the 29th (draft day).”

For the past few weeks, Slaughter and Warren have been working out together at SDSU.

Though Warren must be concerned whether his only shot will come as a free agent, Slaughter has no such worries.

“I think Slaughter ought to go between the third and sixth round,” said Ron Nay, the Chargers’ director of scouting. “He’s quick, he has good concentration and good hands, and he has been productive. The negative is that he’s a skinny little guy (6-0, 175). We’d like to have Webster Slaughter if he’s still on the board at the right time. His position (wide receiver) is not a pressing need for us.”

Slaughter caught 82 passes for 1,071 yards in 1985. He also led the Aztecs with 11 touchdowns.

Warren had 38 receptions and five touchdowns, but he was more of a deep threat with a 20.7 yards-per-reception average.

Speed is considered Warren’s greatest asset. He said he has been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40.

Warren has been flown in for visits by the Rams, Detroit, New York Giants, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. However, the Chargers seem unimpressed.

“We’re not going to draft him,” Nay said. “He’s not a (speed) burner.”

O’Brien, a placekicker, may not be drafted, but it won’t be for a lack of talent. The trend among NFL teams is to draft kickers in lower rounds or sign them as free agents. As an example, UCLA’s John Lee, considered the best placekicker in the nation, may not be taken in the early rounds.

In O’Brien’s two seasons at SDSU, he was successful on 28 of 32 field-goal attempts. He set a Western Athletic Conference record by making 18 straight field goals.

“We like him,” Nay said. “We think he has a chance to kick for somebody. With Rolf Benirschke’s health (problems), we’d be interested in signing him (O’Brien) as a free agent. I wouldn’t rule out drafting him in a later round.”

O’Brien said he has worked out for the Chargers and Kansas City. He said his agent has also contacted “a couple” of other teams.

“A team like Kansas City doesn’t need a kicker because it already has Nick Lowery,” O’Brien said. “They told me right out they won’t draft a kicker, but they said they wouldn’t mind signing me as a free agent. I’d almost prefer signing as a free agent somewhere. That way, I could look at the options and see where I might have the best chance of making it.”

Knight (6-4, 270) thinks he has a good chance of getting drafted by a team in need of an offensive tackle. He said he has been worked out by “about 10 teams,” including multiple workouts by Seattle, Dallas and Washington.

“They all say I have a great chance of getting to play,” Knight said. “That’s all you need.”

According to Nay, Knight possesses “good size and some bounce for a big player.”

Knight and his former Aztec teammates also have another very important advantage--knowledge of how pro offenses execute. Under Coach Doug Scovil, who was fired after last season, SDSU ran a pro-style, pass-oriented offense.

“If you play in a pro-style offense like San Diego State runs, you have less to learn in the big leagues,” Knight said. “A lot of pass sets and run-blocking schemes we used are exactly like a lot of professional teams use.”