McKelvin is a 5-11, 186-pound, swivel-hipped cornerback from Troy State with a strong burst of speed, who also is an accomplished returner. Lots of teams could use a guy like that, very much including the Eagles, who draft 19th overall, right about where many projections currently rate McKelvin, with the draft still 3 months distant.

"I've always been a sleeper," said McKelvin, who said he ended up at Troy after being a late academic qualifier out of Waycross, Ga.

McKelvin has looked right at home this week, working against receivers from more heralded programs as his South team prepares for today's Senior Bowl all-star game.

A few years ago, the fact that a talented prospect could also return kicks and punts would have been treated as something of a footnote. But in the post-Devin Hester NFL, sure hands and superior speed in the return game are a very large plus.

"I can change field position. I'm that guy," said McKelvin, who said he was interviewed by the Eagles this week.

The fact that he played at Troy isn't as much of a negative as it once might have been, either, not since the Trojans sent Osi Umenyiora and DeMarcus Ware to the pros. McKelvin said he has talked to Ware about the NFL and the draft processs.

Speed also is the draft currency of Houston wideout Donnie Avery, likewise a returner. Critics say that Avery's speed is straight-line, one-dimensional, that he isn't a great route-runner or a polished, consistent receiver.

"I'm probably the fastest guy here. I'm not going to say I'm the quickest guy here, but I pretty much think I'm the fastest," Avery said. "I've returned kicks and punts, too. I love returning, I love playing on special teams.

"I can always improve on something. Of course I need more experience with my route techniques. I'm working on that. All the routes we do out here, it's my first time doing 'em. I'll get a lot of repetition. I know I'll master that."

Avery categorized his session with the Eagles as "just a typical interview."

"A lot of teams need speedy wideouts. I feel blessed to have that speed," he said.

If the Birds were to draft Avery, he'd be very familiar with at least one teammate, ex-Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb, who shares the same agent.

"He's great; he knows how to read the field," Avery said of Kolb. "He's very smart. Sometimes he knows where you're going to be before you even get there, so he just 'spot' throws it. He's just an all-around quarterback."

QB questions

Brennan, listed at 6-3, said he thinks concern about his motion leading to passes getting batted down is overblown.

"I set a career completion record for college quarterbacks, so if I am getting balls batted down, I'm a lot more accurate than people think," Brennan said. "I'm a guy who has, not so much a low delivery, but it can be high, it can be low, I can change it, however the defense is playing me. I can throw in-between guys, and not over guys."

Virtually every quarterback here faces questions about dropping back from center, reading the defense while backpedaling, then setting up and throwing. Many colleges use the shotgun pretty much exclusively.

Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco said he took snaps from under center in college, even if he didn't drop back with the ball.

"We did a lot of handoffs and play-actions from under there. It might have been 35 or 40 percent of the snaps, I was under center. I wasn't [dropping back and] throwing the ball, but I was handing the ball off. I've been working the last couple weeks on it, trying to get used to it. I've felt pretty comfortable all week," said Flacco, who is from Audubon, N.J.

Flacco has shown a strong arm this week, but he has had trouble with smooth center exchanges.

"I've got to clean up some things, definitely, but I've been happy to see I felt pretty comfortable," he said. *