Four Cyclones from last year’s football team are vying for a spot on an NFL team this season.

One was drafted, two have been signed as free agents and the other is rehabilitating an injury, but still plans on being in uniform Sundays next fall.

“I’m so happy for those kids. They deserve it,” said former ISU football coach Dan McCarney. “I know they will be more prepared than anyone else in minicamp. I’m honored to have coached them; I’m pulling for them like crazy.”

For Aaron Brant, Scott Stephenson, Brent Curvey and DeAndre Jackson, the next few months will be full of learning, impressing and, in Jackson’s case, getting noticed again.

“I have to finish my rehab with my ACL before I can start with any camps,” said defensive back Jackson. “I’ll be happy to be on any team right about now.”

The other three men have been keeping themselves busy since signing with their teams – Brant, to the Bears, Curvey, the Panthers and Stephenson, the Browns. Rookie camp took place in the first week of May, and that’s when the first cuts were made.

“The Browns sent 45 guys to rookie camp,” Stephenson said. “Only 16 were invited to stay with the team.”

Minicamp follows rookie camp. This time, in most cases, the whole team is present, including the stars and the veterans. It’s a drastic change from being at a rookie camp with a bunch of other young, inexperienced players.

“Minicamp was with the veterans. Yeah, I was a little nervous,” Brant said. “Those guys can be intimidating.”

Maybe the veterans are so “intimidating” because they know there’s new, young blood in the program competing for the spots they’ve held for years.

“They started making cuts at rookie camp, and they’ll keep making more cuts,” Stephenson said. “If they can get a younger guy in there, and pay him next to nothing, than that’s what they’re going to do.”

A good start to taking one of those veterans’ spots is having the mind and dedication to memorize the new system you’ll be playing in – the playbook.

“In the NFL, it’s about long days and long hours; they’re trying to keep us busy,” Stephenson said. “Learning the new system is a pain in the ass. They say that will make or break a player.”

Final cuts will be made just days before the first regular season game. So are the boys we watched grow up at Iowa State nervous?

Apparently not.

“It’s an extensive process, but I’m not worried about anything,” Stephenson said. “They said I had a great rookie camp. I was faster than they expected, and they said I learned the playbook pretty quick – that’s been no problem.”

Jackson’s shares Stephenson’s confidence.

“Next year I’ll be back to normal, and then I see myself starting and doing what I can for whatever team I’m on to win,” Jackson said.

Aaron Brant – Offensive line

At 6 foot 7 inches and 320 pounds, Aaron Brant was the largest regular starter on the Cyclones’ football team last year – maybe size really does matter.

Brant, who started playing football in fourth grade, was the only Cyclone football player to be taken in the 2007 NFL Draft in April. He was lucky enough to be picked up in the seventh round by the NFC champion and Super Bowl runner-up, the Chicago Bears. Things were almost different though.

“I was in contact with the New York Giants in the sixth round, and a few other teams in the seventh,” Brant said. “Then I was on the phone with the Baltimore Ravens, and the Bears beeped in and offered me a position, and I took it.”

After the call, relief and celebration ensued.

“I just felt really relieved, it was a dream come true,” Brant said. “I was at home with friends, we were just jumping up and down high-fiving – it was a once-in-a-lifetime reaction.”

Brant started at offensive line in 46 games for the Cyclones throughout his career and ended it with 36 consecutive starts.

He was honorable mention All-Big 12 from the coaches in 2005 and 2006, and he was recipient of the Arthur Scott Floyd Award in 2006, which is given to the Cyclones’ top offensive lineman each year.

Brant recently became the fifth of the Bears’ nine draft picks to sign with the team and was offered a four-year contract, of which the terms were not disclosed.

Brent Curvey – Defensive End

On May 3, former Cyclone defensive end Brent Curvey signed on with the Carolina Panthers as a free agent. As for his not being drafted, Curvey said it wasn’t a big deal.

“I didn’t even watch the draft,” Curvey said.

“I didn’t pay much attention to it at all – I wasn’t expecting to be drafted.”

Curvey was grocery shopping when he got what may have been one of the most important calls of his life to date.

“I was in the store when the Panthers called me; just two teams were in contact with me after the draft. I just felt that Carolina would be a better opportunity for me,” Curvey said.

The lack of interest drawn by Curvey from NFL teams is more than likely linked with his size, which, at 6 feet, is lacking by NFL standards.

“Brent is undersized, but he overachieves,” former ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “A lot of other college recruiters thought he was too small, and then he came to ISU and started as a freshman. That’s sayin’ something. He reminds me a lot of former NFL star James Reed. I think he can do the same thing Reed did.”

Curvey may be best known for his two fumble recoveries, both for touchdowns, in consecutive games against Kansas and Baylor in 2004, a year when he also earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.

He was second team All-Big 12 in 2005 and was named first team by The Kansas City Star. He finished his career with 222 tackles and 16 sacks.

Scott Stephenson – Offensive line

Scott Stephenson thought he would be drafted, and he thought he would drafted pretty high. On May 3, however, he was signed on as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns.

“I was hearing that I’d be drafted in the third, maybe fourth round,” Stephenson said. “I had an agent call around to teams and some of them had me on their front board, meaning I was on their first-day draft board.”

A St. Paul, Minn., native, Stephenson started his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota as a defensive tackle, and it didn’t take long for him to realize that he might have what it takes to play in the NFL.

“I figured I had a shot at the NFL after my first game in college,” Stephenson said. “I was at the U of M as defensive tackle, and my first game I was defensive MVP.”

MVP status turned to drama as Stephenson bolted for Ames after his sophomore year because of “politics,” Stephenson said.

“I wanted to play offense and the coaches wanted me to play defense,” Stephenson said.

Apparently, the drama is still hanging around, and Stephenson seems to believe it’s the fault of his coach at Minnesota that he was signed as a free agent, and not drafted.

“When teams want to get a feel for their prospective players, they call up old coaches,” Stephenson said. “My coach at Minnesota was saying bad things about me, like I had no work ethic, and I did my own workout plan and other stuff. I didn’t know it would have the impact that it did, but my agent confirmed that there were conflicting reports about me.”

The opposing report must have come from former ISU coach Dan McCarney.

“Scott made an unbelievable transition,” McCarney said. “He’s one of the most tenacious, physical tackles I’ve ever coached; he has a great shot at the NFL.”

DeAndre Jackson – Defensive back

Projected to be one of the top potential draft picks at cornerback after the 2006 season, DeAndre Jackson sustained an ACL injury midway through last season, greatly hampering his draft status. Ups and downs have followed, leaving him where he is now – in rehab and optimistic.

“I was back in Texas during the draft,” Jackson said. “I was kind of nervous. I thought I was gonna get drafted. Baltimore called me right after the draft and signed me, and then 10 minutes later they called back and said they couldn’t sign me because I hadn’t passed my physical that I needed to.”

Jackson was down, but not out.

“I went into the draft expecting the worst and hoping for the best,” Jackson said. “You can’t get personal in the NFL because than you’ll end up getting hurt.”

Jackson has been in contact since the draft with several teams, including the Jets, Packers, Bills, Giants and Bucs, who have all shown interest in the defensive back, with a pair of teams from the Big Apple – the Giants and Jets – showing the most interest.

“I want to start in the NFL next year, and I can see myself starting,” Jackson said. “I want to make the teams pay that didn’t draft me.”

Had it not been for the ACL injury, it wouldn’t have been a matter of whether Jackson would be drafted, but when.

“He would not have been on the fence had it not been for his injury,” former ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “He was regarded as high as Ellis Hobbs; there’s no doubt that he has NFL talent. I think everything will work out for him.”