Former Cyclone defensive lineman James Reed sits on his couch at his home in University Village, boxes piled up around him as he prepares to move back to Michigan in a week.

Wide receiver J.J. Moses is at home watching a tape of him and fellow Cyclones demolish a team of teachers from Boone.

Former quarterback Sage Rosenfels is at home in Maquoketa, Ia., taking calls at his parents house.

Despite the different paths these players have taken, they all have something in common other than leading Iowa State to one of the best seasons in school history.

They all have high expectations for this weekend’s National Football League Draft. They hope to join the 73 other Cyclone players that have been in the NFL.

Rosenfels, Reed and Moses along with defensive linemen Reggie Hayward, Ryan Harklau and Nigel Tharpe, offensive lineman Andy Stensrud and linebacker Derrick Walker have all had their names thrown around as possible draft picks.

“I’m just thankful to be in the running for the NFL draft,” Moses said. “That’s just a blessing in itself.”

All the players have a shot at being drafted. Rosenfels and Hayward appear to be sure shots, according to most publications. The Sporting News has Hayward playing with the Atlanta Falcons and Rosenfels suiting up for the Dallas Cowboys. The rest have a chance, too.

Moses has worked out for some NFL teams, including Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Oakland and Kansas City. Reed has also worked out for about four NFL teams, he said.

The workouts are rigorous and have been trying for all the athletes.

The combines differ for positions. Wide receivers do work running routes and catching balls. Speed tests are a must. The lineman also take speed tests and lifting drills. Reed said he did a bench press and vertical and long jumps. Rosenfels concentrated on throwing drills and testing his arm for scouts.

Denver Broncos scout Greg Miller said drafting quarterbacks is a tough job. He listed some of the qualities scouts commonly look for in a QB. Athletic ability, intelligence [judged with IQ tests], arm strength, accuracy, size and durability were just a few that Miller listed.

“The more athletic, the better,” he said.

Miller said that sometimes if a quarterback is intelligent, it will take the place of some of the “intangibles.”

For a lineman, Miller said there is different criteria.

“The reason teams are interested in a player like Reggie,” Miller explained is because “he’s got NFL-type dimensions in terms of body type. He’s got long arms and a long reach, and he’s probably going to get bigger.”

Miller added that Hayward is explosive and has good quickness and flexibility.

All players also take a test of 50 questions. They see how many they can get right in a 12-minute time span.

Miller said it is called the Wonderlic test and is commonly used not only by football teams but by corporations.

“It is an indicator in terms of an athlete’s ability to think quickly and clearly,” Miller said.

In some cases, players such as Reed have withdrawn from school and plan to return later to graduate.

“When you’re trying to get noticed like I was, it’s hard [to be in school and go to workouts],” Reed explained. “It came down to a decision – either finish school or go workout and get better and faster. I decided to go to Atlanta [for a combine] and I’m glad I went.”

Moses said he has stayed in school, but at times it has been hard.

“It’s been challenging,” Moses said. “Sometimes you’re in class thinking about workouts.”

Moses explained that staying in school has “taught me to be patient.”

“I’m glad I stayed in school,” he added.

Rosenfels hasn’t had that problem, he graduated at semester.

Regardless of the pressures the students face, they all have an open mind going into the draft and they are all careful about what they say in regard to their futures.

“I’m not trying to go to the NFL because of money,” Moses said. “Money is gonna come, I’m not worried about money at all. I feel that I can play in the NFL, I want to play football because I love it.”

Reed said he didn’t want to say where he could go, but said to the people who doubted his abilities “I know things that ESPN doesn’t know from what I’ve heard and from what I’ve witnessed.”

Along with getting themselves noticed, these players have brought attention to Iowa State. Head football coach Dan McCarney said that the team is “forever in debt to these kids.”

“Number one, we’re looking forward to the weekend to see where these kids can go,” McCarney said. “It’s a good sign that the program gets exposure, and it helps recruiting.”

McCarney warned that his players must have an open mind this weekend. He told his former players “if it’s meant to be, you’re gonna get drafted.”

The players that do get drafted may likely take a year of sitting on the sidelines to learn, which could be good for them.

“That’s something I’ll have to adjust to but get used too,” Hayward said. He explained that if a team does take him he “didn’t get drafted to sit on the sidelines.”

But learning from people who have experience can be a huge benefit to young players. Rosenfels hopes to go to a team with a veteran quarterback so he can learn more about the game.

“It would be nice to learn from a veteran quarterback,” Rosenfels said. “And maybe in two or three years when he is gone or moves on, maybe I could take over for him.”

No matter what the players do, they will all remember each other and take special pride in knowing that they have accomplished everything together.

“Everybody deserves it on this team,” Moses said. “We’ve worked so hard and just to see other guys get mentioned, that’s an honor. They were my teammates, we did everything together, we worked out together, practiced together, to see those guys get mentioned it’s almost like seeing my name go across.”

The NFL draft starts Saturday at 11 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. It picks up again Sunday at 11 a.m. ending at 6 p.m. ESPN will have coverage of the draft.