NFL Draft -- For Conwell, Strength Is Numbers

Washington tight end Ernie Conwell sat in a vacant office at the university when basketball player Mark Sanford stuck his head in the doorway.

"Ernie," Sanford cracked, "you need an agent."

Sanford jokingly applied for the job, which should soon involve negotiating a a second- or third-round NFL contract.

In a draft rated strong for tight ends, Conwell, 23, is the strongest physically. The 250-pound shot putter has bench-pressed 500 pounds. Conwell missed spring football last year after he attempted to bench 515 pounds and the bar rolled backward off his hands, onto his chest and broke two ribs.

"My life flashed before my eyes," he said.

Conwell recovered in time to put the shot in late spring and finished fifth in the NCAA championships at 61 feet, 1 1/4 inches. He hopes to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, but is a long shot for a berth on the U.S. team.

He is a safe bet to have his name called Saturday, when the first three rounds of the draft are conducted. Only two tight ends appear likely to have their names called before him: Rickey Dudley of Ohio State and Jason Dunn of Eastern Kentucky. Both are taller - Dudley is 6 feet 6 and Dunn is 6-4. Conwell is nearly 6-2.

But scouts like Conwell's athleticism (39-inch vertical jump, 4.63-second 40-yard speed and the bench press). They also like the way he improved during his senior season.

Rick Mallory, Husky tight-end coach who played the position

five years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, took Conwell aside after the third game last fall and bluntly told him to play harder and better.

"It was to the point where either he was going to have to sit down and I was going to play young guys or he would have to step it up," Mallory said.

Conwell responded immediately with good blocking and catches for 38 and 23 yards against Oregon State.

Until their meeting, Mallory said, Conwell struggled to "really convincing himself" that an NFL career was within his grasp.

"He saw great potential in me," Conwell said. "I think he wanted me to see that in myself."

Before last season, Conwell was overshadowed by Mark Bruener, who was drafted in last year's first round by Pittsburgh and played in the Super Bowl.

Early in their Husky careers, Bruener and Conwell played behind Aaron Pierce, now a New York Giant. Another Husky playing tight end in the NFL is Eric Bjornson of Dallas, who was a quarterback and wide receiver in college.

Pro Football Weekly says Conwell was "not nearly as consistent as Mark Bruener was in college but has more upside potential."

Conwell "seems to be developing more of a football (rather than track) mentality," the magazine reported. It said he "looks like Charles Atlas" but "does not always play to his weight-room strength."

Some teams have expressed interest in Conwell as a possible H-back or fullback, which he hasn't played since junior-high school. He also can deep-snap. Dallas and Kansas City are among teams showing the most interest.

Mallory said Conwell "will have to get a little nastier" in the NFL.

"It's not a game for nice men on the field," Mallory said. "The thing about Ernie is he's such a nice young man."

But "nice" does not mean incapable of leading, Conwell said.

"I'm not a real vocal person. I believe in humility and being a leader by example and sometimes that comes across like I'm not as intense," he said.

Mallory said Conwell is a better receiver than his statistics (24 catches for 343 yards and two touchdowns last season) indicate.

"It was our fault for not throwing the ball to him more," said Mallory, who praised Conwell's hands, route-running and ability to break away from defenders.

Conwell said he has been dreaming about the NFL draft "since I was a little kid."

The youngest of nine children in a Kent family, Conwell married his sweetheart from Kentwood High School and lives in Kent. At Kentwood, Conwell was two-time Class AAA shot-put champion. He also was a football co-captain with Richard Thomas, an honor they shared in junior high and again as Huskies.

An NFL paycheck will be welcome. Conwell and his wife, Andrea, have a 4-year-old daughter, Devon, and another child is due in October.

Conwell isn't the only competitor in his family. His 67-year-old father and two of his five brothers race stock cars. Two of the Conwell clan's three cars are painted purple and gold and the best one, brother Vince's superstock, is No. 82 - Conwell's jersey number at Washington.

The cars might need a paint job after Saturday when Conwell gets a team with new colors.