Pat McAfee is long on leg strength -- and confidence.

The West Virginia place-kicker and Plum native is on brink of being selected in this weekend's NFL draft. He's one of the top-rated kickers by most draft analysts and a projected late-rounder by some.

So, when asked, McAfee never wavered, figuring if he doesn't get drafted, there's still a spot for him in the NFL.

"I'm just staying even keel about all this," he said. "If I don't get drafted, hey, no big deal, man, I'll just have to go into a camp as a free agent and take someone's job from them. That is honestly the way I feel, so why not just say it like that?"

McAfee, 6 feet, 228 pounds, handled all three components of the kicking game at West Virginia last season -- punting, field-goal kicking and kickoff duties. And he excelled at all portions of the triumvirate, which have the NFL scouts intrigued.

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The PG draft order

Sunday: The Class of 2009 & The Steelers: A Good Fit

Monday: Selecting a DL in first round rarely on Steelers' board

Tuesday: Steelers seek 'special draft,' and history proves they can find quality picks

Wednesday: What if there were no NFL draft? It could happen in 2012.

Yesterday: A look at the contest to land the best undrafted free agents in the hours after the draft.

Today: A look at some familiar names you can expect to hear called.

Tomorrow: Ed Bouchette zeroes in on the Steelers' short list while offering his annual mock draft.

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A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award -- presented to the nation's top punter -- he had a 44.7 yards per punt average, dropping 23 punts inside the 20 yard line. McAfee was also a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top kicker after he went 17 for 20 in field goals, including 7 of 8 from beyond 40 yards, and also had eight touchbacks.

Some teams like him as a kickoff man, some like him as a place-kicker, where others have raved to his Pittsburgh-based agent Eddie Edwards about his punting.

The Indianapolis Colts extended one of their limited college prospect invitations -- rare for a kicker -- to McAfee a few weeks ago. He said the Colts, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have been in contact with him most.

A dynamic youth soccer player, he only kicked in high school for a 11/2 years and headed to West Virginia without much of a pedigree.

All this never was in his grand plan, but now it is.

"Me, personally, no way man," McAfee said, in his typical carefree conversational style. "When I was coming out of high school, I was always like, 'Those guys in the NFL are the top 32 kickers and top 32 punters on this whole planet.' When I thought about that for a minute, I was like, 'You know how good you have to be to be that good?'

"But I would hear murmurs, especially after I got to [West Virginia], and everyone around was like, 'Hey, man, you have a chance if you keep working hard.' Well, I guess they knew what they were talking about. Right now, I have a chance. And we'll see what happens."

• Quarterback Pat White is expected to be the first West Virginia player taken, with some projections putting him in the second or third round. The 6-0, 197-pound White's athleticism and shiftiness never have been questioned, but some have wondered how he will adjust to playing quarterback in the pros or if he will play quarterback -- some teams have asked him to work out at receiver.

• Offensive guard Greg Isdaner, who left school after his junior season to pursue an NFL career, is 6-4, 325 pounds but has battled shoulder injuries. Still he might go in the second day because of his size. ... Cornerback Ellis Lankster is an athletic player who showed flashes of brilliance last season. He visited the Steelers and could be a second-day pick along with offensive tackle Ryan Stanchek. ...Mortty Ivy, an inside linebacker from Gateway, could be a late pick but most likely will be a free agent.