Notre Dame's Laws leaps up draft board

In theory, Trevor Laws was alone among his potentially draftable Notre Dame brethren, the one guy who was going to tune into the NFL draft on Saturday and monitor, if only casually, the proceedings.

Yet thanks to the overeager swarm of family and friends at his Burnsville, Minn., home, it barely registered when the moment of truth arrived.

"As soon as the phone (rang), my whole family mobbed me, so it was kind of hard to hear," Laws said. "But it was a great situation."

Ultimately the message came through loud and clear: Laws was rewarded for returning to the Irish for a fifth season by becoming a second-round pick (47th overall) of the Philadelphia Eagles, not long after Irish teammate John Carlson was scooped up by the Seattle Seahawks, also in the second round (38th overall).

The Minnesota natives were separated by about 80 miles-the distance from Carlson's hometown of Litchfield to Laws' home in Burnsville-and nine picks on Saturday. And it was, realistically, about as good a draft result as either could have hoped.

Laws received validation for returning to Notre Dame and having a blowout final campaign. Irish coach Charlie Weis laid it out plainly after the defensive lineman's fourth year, saying Laws needed to come back to be a valued draft commodity.

A team-high 112 tackles later-a phenomenal number for an end in a 3-4 defense-Laws got a return on his investment.

"Going through the draft process, not knowing what's going to happen, you can go anywhere," Laws said. "I think with my strong Senior Bowl and combine performances, teams kind of looked through (Notre Dame's) season and saw the player I really was."

Said Eagles coach Andy Reid: "Trevor is a high-energy player. He's got great balance and core strength and quickness. He'll be a nice addition to the (defensive line) pair we have with Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson."

The mysterious illness that forced Carlson out of the Senior Bowl and sapped him at the combine did not come back to haunt him, especially after he recovered with a good showing at Notre Dame's pro day, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds.

As for that all-important "fit" or "need"? Carlson fits what Seattle needs like a porterhouse steak fits what a guy on a two-week hunger strike needs. It's probably the reason the Seahawks used a third-round pick to move up 17 spots in the second round to get Carlson.

"It was no secret we were looking hard for tight ends," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren told reporters in Seattle, adding that they considered Carlson to be the "most all-around solid guy" at the position.