Hogs still wait for draft calls

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams said last week he only had one wish for where he begins his professional football career.

“I hope to stay where it’s warm,” Adams said.

But the Little Rock native won’t be disappointed if a team in a cold-weather city selects him tonight, when the 2012 NFL Draft continues with the second and third rounds.

He’s ready for New York, Green Bay, Buffalo, Chicago or Detroit to call, planning to show his new employer he was worth the selection.

“So I’m not going to worry about where I get picked up,” Adams said. “Whatever team picks me I’m going to make them proud.”

It’s an approach Adams and the rest of his former Arkansas teammates are taking this weekend as they wait for phone calls during the seven-round draft, which will conclude Saturday. A handful of Razorbacks are projected to be picked (Adams, Greg Childs, Jarius Wright, Jake Bequette and Jerry Franklin). Others are likely to sign free agent deals (Jerico Nelson, Tramain Thomas, Broderick Green, Grant Cook and Grant Freeman).

Either way, they’re just waiting for a chance.

“I’m really not too nervous about it,” Wright said. “I know I’ll get a chance somewhere.

“But there’s just a lot of anxiety on where I might spend the next three or four years at.”

Arkansas’ trio of receivers — Adams, Wright and Childs — headline the Razorbacks’ 2012 draft class after productive college careers. While none of the three were regarded as first-round talent, each has garnered buzz during the draft process.

Adams could be the first Razorback pulled off the board tonight. He is projected as a third-round pick by ESPN’s Todd McShay and a fourth- or fifth-rounder by NFLDraftScout.com.

He promises to provide a team with versatility as a pass catcher and punt returner.

“Every team said they were looking at me and they need a return guy and a receiver,” said Adams, who has visited Tennessee, Carolina, Houston and Dallas since pro day. “So it’s just great to be in the position I’m in now.”

But NFLDraftScout.com and Chad Reuter of NFL.com both believe Childs will be the first Razorbacks selected this weekend, going in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Childs, who was limited throughout his senior season because of the knee injury he suffered in November 2010, made an impression during his pro day workout in March.

Childs said it has helped him receive plenty of feedback from teams over the past month.

“I’ve had a lot of teams fly me out,” Childs said. “I’ve had a lot of teams come down here and just work me out. So I’ve been getting some real good feedback. … It lets you know teams are interested and looking to maybe snatch you up.”

Wright, meanwhile, is widely projected as a fifth-round pick this weekend.

The senior was the most productive of the three receivers during his Arkansas career, finishing with school records in catches, yards and touchdowns. Wright said it’s hard to figure out which teams are interested in selecting him, but each has delivered a message the past month.

“The ones I talk to, they told me it’s not really about what round you go in,” Wright said.

“It’s about what you do when you get there.”

Arkansas’ receivers are getting most of the pre-draft attention regarding the Razorbacks, but won’t be the only ones selected this weekend.

Bequette also is projected as a mid- to late-round selection. The Little Rock native has worked at both defensive end and outside linebacker during the pre-draft process. Bequette said he won’t know which position he’ll play under he’s selected in the next two days.

“Every day that I work at linebacker I get more comfortable with it,” Bequette said. “But I think it’s up in the air. If a 4-3 team takes me I’ll be playing defensive end. If a 3-4 team takes me I’ll be happy to play linebacker.”

So Bequette and the rest of the NFL hopeful Razorbacks are ready to get some answers regarding their pro football futures this week.

It has been a long wait. But it’s almost over.

“Playing at Arkansas everything is just so detail oriented and everything is so scheduled,” Bequette said. “Having some time on your hands is tough sometimes. You work out three or four hours in the morning and the rest of the day you’re just going, ‘Man, I’m ready to get to work.’

“I guess that sounds bad complaining about that, but I’m ready to get picked up somewhere and I’m ready to go to work.”