Luck, Griffin won't have to sit and wait

NEW YORK - Andrew Luck knows exactly where he's heading, and so does Robert Griffin III.

For the rest of the college stars preparing for the NFL draft Thursday night, the anxiety is building. Nobody is looking forward to the green room at Radio City Music Hall.

"It kind of made me a little nervous when we were talking to the commissioner, and he said, 'You'll be back there for an hour, and it'll feel like you've been back there for five days," ' Southern California tackle Matt Kalil said. "I want to have my name called and not have to wait too long."

Kalil shouldn't have to worry much about that. Most mock drafts project Kalil to go third overall to Minnesota after Luck heads to Indianapolis and Griffin to Washington. But he knows better than to put much stock in the predraft chatter.

"I stopped paying attention to all of that stuff," Kalil said.

That's the approach for the nearly two dozen other players who'll be at Radio City and have no idea when they might walk onto the stage, shake Commissioner Roger Goodell's hand and hold up the jersey of the team with which they'll start their professional career.

Griffin, the Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor, is comforted by already knowing he'll be a member of the Redskins. But he thinks he might actually miss the draft-day jitters. Well, at least a little bit.

"It kind of puts yourself at ease," he said, "but it does kind of rob you of that natural draftee experience where you don't know where you're going and you're in limbo."

Luck will go No. 1 overall to Indianapolis after a terrific career at Stanford. Like Griffin, he is also expected to step right into a starting job as a rookie.

Luck, the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, acknowledged that it was a "relief" to know he'll be going to the Colts - even if they're starting from scratch after they released Peyton Manning.

After Luck and Griffin, Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill is expected to be the next quarterback taken - possibly eighth overall by Miami, where he'd be reunited with Mike Sherman. The new Dolphins offensive coordinator was Tannehill's head coach the last four years.

"If I did happen to go there, it would be good," said Tannehill, who would compete with starter Matt Moore. "It would give me some familiarity with the offense."

Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon will likely be the first wide receiver picked, possibly as high as No. 4 by Cleveland. Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill and Baylor's Kendall Wright are other receivers who might go in the opening round.