NFL draft day
means waiting for the
phone to ring

Kahuku's Chris Naeole
is certain to get a call; two others
hope they do, too

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

They have been pointing toward this weekend since the first time they stuck their heads through a pair of shoulder pads.

Now that the National Football League draft is less than a day away, the waiting is almost over for local hopefuls Chris Naeole, Itula Mili and Ink Aleaga.

"I'm a little anxious to see what round I'm taken in and by what team," Naeole said earlier this week. The former University of Colorado offensive lineman returned to Hawaii on Wednesday and will be with his family when he hears the news tomorrow.

"I've heard that I could be taken in the late first round or early second," the talented offensive guard said. "But you don't know for sure until you get that telephone call."

Naeole could be the first local player selected in the opening round since Bern Brostek of the Los Angeles Rams in 1990. Brostek, a former Iolani School and University of Washington standout, was the 23rd player selected overall.

The New Orleans Saints have expressed an interest in Naeole, who was was a first-team Associated Press All-America choice. So much so, he had a private workout earlier this spring with new head coach Mike Ditka in attendance.

For Mili, the news isn't quite as positive. The Brigham Young University tight end would have been in Naeole's neighborhood had he not blown out his knee in last December's Western Athletic Conference championship game.

He had reconstructive surgery performed late last year and recently had a second operation to repair scar tissue. That operation set back his rehabilitation by a month, but he feels it will be worth it.

"The knee isn't nearly as tight since I had the second operation," Mili said from his Provo, Utah, home. "I'm not expecting anything because of the injury, but hopefully, I'll be drafted."

Most teams don't expect Mili to be recovered in time to play this season. Major knee surgery usually requires at least a year of rehabilitation, but the former Kahuku High player believes he can beat that deadline and be available in the fall. Despite the injury, the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers have expressed an interest in the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, who finished second in receptions for BYU last season.

Mili will probably be picked in the middle to late rounds, but the free-agent route also is possilbe. Regardless, the injury cost him millions.

"I'm over that now," Mili said. "There's nothing I can do about it, but wait until the weekend and hope for the best."

Aleaga is in a similar situation. Like Mili, the 6-2, 230-pound linebacker from Washington could go anywhere from the third round on.

The former Pac-5 player, who attended Maryknoll, isn't in the prediction business. He just wants to wait and see what happens.

"You never can tell what will happen in the draft," Aleaga said while at this year's Hula Bowl. "Strange things happen to people in the draft. All I want is a chance to play somewhere."