Being selective about it

He had run for them. He had jumped for them. He had lifted weights for them. He had blocked for them. He had tackled moving locomotives for them. OK, that last entry is embellishment, but you get the point. Josh Beekman had done all the grunt work, all the muscle stuff, poured out every ounce of sweat he had. Now came the easy part, or so he thought.

"Have you ever been in trouble? Have you ever been arrested?" Beekman was asked, and that was simple. No and no.

"Are you sure?" Beekman was asked, and he didn't have to blink. Positive.

"If you're lying, you know we're going to come back," he was told, and Beekman didn't have a sliver of doubt that the man was serious. Beekman also couldn't help himself.

"I told the guy, 'If you find something, then there's another Josh Beekman out there that isn't me, or someone's using my name, so let me know,' " he told the man.

Laughter filled the interview room, the first light moment of a months-long process of scrutiny that defies description. It is the annual NFL draft, and Beekman has been in the middle of this year's version of the athletic cattle herding. He and his Boston College teammate, James Marten, are projected to be the first two New England players taken in this weekend's draft, offensive linemen from a program that is historically superior at that position.

But if it was their athletic prowess that got them swept up in this analytical hurricane, Beekman and Marten quickly learned that there was more to this draft stuff than running and jumping and lifting. The league always has had players who were characters; now more than ever, the NFL wants players with character. Thus the interviews with NFL types that have gone on for nearly five months, the prodding, the probing, the peppering.

None of which offended Beekman, by the way.

"Your jaw gets tired, but it's worth it," said Beekman. "And they've invested so much time, you can't blame them."

Ever since BC closed out the 2006 season with a win over Navy in the Meineke Bowl Dec. 30, Beekman and Marten have been living in this NFL draft world. Both played in the Senior Bowl under the tutelage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches and both were invited to the NFL combine.

"Those were my job interviews right off the bat," said Beekman, who played primarily right guard for the Eagles, though some draft observers feel he could play any of the three interior spots in the NFL.

Which brings us to a point that has not been lost on Beekman and Marten as they've been enveloped by this process: Their lives have become open books thanks to all the websites and the seemingly thousands of self-professed "draft gurus." Want to know how they did in the dashes, the vertical jump, the 225-pound bench reps, and the ever-popular three-cone drill? The information is out there. As for the wheelbarrow races and egg toss? Well, the Mel Kipers of the world probably have those results, too.

"I try not to let any of that stuff get to me. A lot of those people are no more qualified than the man in the street," said Marten, who played left tackle as a senior after moving over from left guard. Some project him as a right tackle in the NFL, but as he said, he doesn't pay attention to the speculation, even to the whispers that his stock has risen dramatically given his size (6 feet 7 1/2 inches, 309 pounds).

"All of this is out of our hands now," said Marten, who is back home in Indianapolis after wrapping up his classes toward a master's degree. The workouts complete and the interviews over, Marten would love nothing more than to start the draft right now.

"I'm getting sick of people asking me, 'Where are you going?' and, 'What team will you play for?' " said Marten, who sought advice from colleagues who had gone through the process, among them former BC teammate and fellow offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood, now with the Bucs. "They told me that it was a lot of pressure, but just keep your head about you."

Beekman, who has been on campus working toward a master's degree, also will head home for the draft, to Amsterdam, N.Y., just outside Albany. But whereas Marten will skip the standard draft party ("I've been told some horror stories about draft parties," he said) and simply sit at home with his parents, Beekman wants to gather family, friends, and "good Amsterdam people" at a favorite spot, the Crystal Bar and Restaurant in his hometown. There will be good food and hearty laughter, but no analysis. Beekman, like Marten, long ago put a halt to all the speculation, rumors, and predictions that are so much a part of this crapshoot.

"People can project, but nothing is guaranteed," said Beekman, who concedes he hasn't been able to completely shut out the talk. Teammates kid him, friends tell him, so he'd be lying if he said he didn't know that some analysts consider him small (6-1 1/2, 313) for the position, so he could fall to a mid-round pick, especially with a bevy of good offensive linemen supposedly available.

"Look at my numbers," said Beekman, who started at center for several games in his BC career. "I'm probably not the most impressive guy in all areas, but I went out there and competed and showed the coaches what I'm about."

If his numbers rated lower than expected in the dashes and jumps and lifts, then so be it. He swears he has prepared as best he could. But Beekman knows where the credit goes for his marks in the character department.

"My mother kept me in line, and I'm thankful she did, and my father kicked my butt when I needed it," said Beekman, the youngest of the couple's three sons. The oldest, Charles Jr., played basketball at Southern Vermont College, while another, Harley, played lacrosse at Limestone College in South Carolina, a Division 2 national championship program.

The well-grounded Beekman followed his father's advice and pursued a sport he loved, and thanks to great sacrifices, there may be more football in his future.

"I made [the NFL] a goal, not a dream," he said. "If it happens and I'm blessed, then thank God."

If not? Beekman smiles and talks of the five great years he's had at BC, the degree in administration studies, the master's that he vows to complete.

"I hope for the best but expect the worst," he said. "I came to a great school, got great connections, so I'll be all right. The NFL isn't forever."

It's the endless draft process that seemingly is.