Victor Abiamiri wasn't surprised by that, either.

Laws is the guy the Eagles selected when they finally ran out of trading partners and had to actually take a player in the NFL draft. He's a 6-1, 304-pound defensive tackle who was Abiamiri's roommate at Notre Dame, and the Eagles project him into their rotation this season, right behind starters Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley.

"I know a lot about Mike," said Laws, drafted 47th overall in the second round. He added that he never has met the Birds' 2005 first-round draft choice, from USC, the leading tackler among NFL defensive tackles last season. Laws led the Irish in that category. "Even before there was anything about me coming to the Eagles, at the Senior Bowl, the guys from USC were like, 'Oh, you remind me of Mike.' "

"He's very similar," the Eagles coach said after making the pick. "Just like Mike, he was a tremendous wrestler in high school and he has that great balance and core strength and quickness. He'll be a nice addition in there with the pair that we have in Bunk and Patterson."

Abiamiri, a second-round Eagles rookie defensive end last season, has lined up next to both players.

"They have similar body types, playing styles," Abiamiri said yesterday, on a visit to NovaCare to reunite with Laws. "They both have the wrestling background. They both kind of have a nose for the ball, they're all over the field.

"I wouldn't say they have similar personalities; Mike's a little more reserved than Trev."

Abiamiri said Laws has been growing dreadlocks ever since he endured a ritual head-shaving as a freshman. For his introduction to Philadelphia yesterday, he also was wearing a beard.

Asked his thoughts as he was driving in from the airport in a limo, Laws said: "Get me a cheesesteak, real fast."

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis talks to Reid quite a bit and sometimes will drop references to the Eagles coach into conversation, Laws said.

"Despite the fact that we had a bad performance as a team, Trevor was absolutely extraordinary," Weis told Philadelphia-area reporters on a conference call. "Tackles for a loss, playing hard, playing against the good guys, every time we'd match up - we'd go against a team like Michigan, and instead of him playing on the left side, where we'd normally play him, he'd play over on the right side, and he'd hold his own. He's a pain in the butt to block - he doesn't stay blocked . . . although he's not tall, he plays with a low center of gravity, and he's got a great motor."

Patterson, by the way, was an all-state wrestler in California. Laws, a three-time wrestling high school All-America and Minnesota state high school champion, said he feels there are important parallels between wrestling and playing on the interior line.

"Hips, balance, leverage, knowing how to move your body at tight, awkward angles, it just translates so well," Laws said. *