Linebacker Jon Abbate is leaving Wake Forest early to pursue a professional football career. But it’s evident he already has a complete education in the NFL draft process.

Abbate was as productive a defender as could be found in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He started each of his first three seasons at Wake Forest and became only the third player in conference history to lead his team in tackles as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He earned All-ACC acclaim in 2006 when he posted a career-best 120 tackles on a conference championship team.

Abbate would have been a candidate for the Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker had he played for Wake in 2007. But Abbate saw no point in returning to the ACC for his senior season.

"Unless someone could promise me if I went back that I’d grow 3 inches, the decision was pretty easy," Abbate said. "I could have gone back and been productive again, had another 100-plus tackles, but I’d be in the same situation with my height as a knock."

And it’s a big knock. Abbate played middle linebacker for Wake Forest. The school listed him at 5-foot-11, 245 pounds. At the NFL scouting combine, Abbate measured 5-9½, 231 pounds.

That’s too small to play middle linebacker in the NFL. He’d be engulfed by blockers who are 80 pounds heavier. So most NFL teams have slid Abbate to outside linebacker on their draft boards. But he only ran a 4.99 40-yard dash at the combine. That’s too slow.

Abbate figures to be another of the countless collegians who falls victim to the NFL draft process every April. They were great college players, but they do not project to be as successful at the next level because of a missing measurable or two.

There’s a misconception that the NFL drafts the best players. In fact, the NFL drafts the players with the best chance for success at the next level. So the NFL looks for players with specific measurables.

"The measurables are a piece of the puzzle, like the Wonderlic test," Baltimore Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome said. "You can’t put too much weight on the measurables - but big, fast guys do play in our league."

The NFL wants productive players like Abbate, but it wants them to fit the prototypes in height, weight and speed. Intelligence, hand size and arm length also come into play at various positions.

So good players are shoved down the draft board. All-Americans such as Justin Blalock of Texas and Heisman Trophy winners like Troy Smith of Ohio State probably will be nudged down, as well.

Blalock started four years at Texas at right tackle and was a three-time All-Big 12 selection. But the NFL looks for offensive tackles who are 6-5, 310. Blaylock is only 6-3, so most NFL teams have moved him inside to guard.

The NFL wants tackles with length. You need long arms and legs to steer the speed rushers coming off the edge. The prototype would be Tony Ugoh, a three-year starter and All-Southeastern Conference selection as a senior at Arkansas. He goes 6-5, 301 with 36-inch arms. He will benefit on draft day from his measurables.

Arron Sears doesn’t fit the prototype. Neither does Tala Esera or Steve Vallos. Sears was a three-year starter and two-time All-SEC left tackle at Tennessee. But he’s only 6-3, so NFL teams have moved him inside to guard. Also moving inside will be Esera, an All-Western Athletic Conference left tackle at Hawaii, and Vallos, an All-ACC right tackle at Wake Forest. Esera is only 6-3 and Vallos 6-2½.

The NFL can live with shorter guards. The prototype there is 6-4, 305. The NFL can live with even shorter centers. The prototype there is 6-3, 300.

But the NFL cannot live with shorter quarterbacks. The prototype for the position is 6-3, 220.

The NFL wants its quarterbacks to stand at eye level with the offensive and defensive linemen. To make plays down the field, you must be able to see down the field. A 6-0 quarterback is continually looking through windows in his pass protection to throw.

That’s why Michigan State’s Drew Stanton figures to be drafted higher than Smith - even though Smith won the Heisman as the best player in college football playing in the same conference as Stanton. But Smith goes only 6-0, 226. Stanton is 6-3, 226.

"You make it seem like being 6-foot is a disease," Smith said.

Wide receivers come in all sizes. Pro Bowler Steve Smith is 5-9, and Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson, the top receiver in the 2007 draft, goes 6-5, 239 pounds. But hand size is critical at this position.

Bigger hands translate to more reliable hands on draft day. Nine-inch hands are good. Ten-inch hands are better. Johnson has hands that measure 9¾. Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State is 6 inches shorter (5-11) than Johnson but has bigger hands. They measure 10 inches across. David Clowney of Virginia Tech has 10¼-inch hands. He’s 6-0, 188 pounds, with 4.39 speed. The NFL loves his measurables.

Wideouts with small hands generally are moved to defensive back earlier in their football careers. The only cornerback on this draft board with 10-inch hands is Marcus McCauley of Fresno State (10¼).

Ten of the top 35 cornerbacks on the 2007 draft board have hands smaller than 9 inches. Only four of the top 40 wide receivers in this draft have hands smaller than 9 inches.

Height isn’t as big a factor for running backs as thickness. Barry Sanders was only 5-8 but was thick across the thighs and chest. He weighed 205 pounds and could absorb a hit.

The NFL prototype for the position is 5-11, 215 pounds, with 4.4 speed. Marshawn Lynch of Cal fits the prototype to a T at 5-11, 215, with 4.48 speed. That will get him drafted in the first round - not necessarily the 1,356 rushing yards he gained last season in the Pac-10.

Garrett Wolfe rushed for 1,928 yards in 2006 at Northern Illinois and has 4.39 speed. But he stands 5-7 and weighs only 186 pounds. There are questions in draft rooms about his durability. Can he can absorb NFL punishment from tacklers and survive a 16-game season?

There are exceptions in every draft. Small players make it every year. So do short players. And slow players. But they earn their spots in training camp in August. They don’t get the benefit of the doubt in April.

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