All that former Wisconsin free safety Roderick Rogers has been able to do since the Badgers' victory in the Capital One Bowl is sit and wait.

First, Rogers had to sit and wait because of the knee injury he suffered in the bowl game, as the MCL sprain set his training back about three weeks.

Now, Rogers will have to sit and wait as he hopes to be picked up by an NFL team in this weekend's draft.

"I'm just waiting," Rogers said in a phone interview. "Everything's out of my hands right now. I've been getting my workouts in, staying in shape, but all I can do is just sit and wait."

Yet Rogers won't exactly be sitting down for the draft. Not only will he be flying back home to the Atlanta area, he may be on the edge of his seat waiting to hear his name called.

According to his agent, Josh Wright, Rogers is projected as high as a third-round selection and as low as an un-drafted free agent.

"Of all the players I've dealt with, Roderick has the highest disparity I've ever seen," said Wright, who represents 18 active NFL players. "Some teams really love him and some teams just don't."

It's even harder to gauge Rogers' stock given the nature of how teams give draft projections at this time of the year.

"Every team is playing possum right now," Wright said. "They're all trying to get the best guy possible and as late as possible. Some teams will publicly place guys lower than they actually have them ranked, so it's really hard to tell where Rod will go."

Nevertheless, Rogers and his agent have heard from every NFL team regarding potential interest. The Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts have had interviews with Rogers, and the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers brought him in for visits.

The visit with the Steelers stuck out for Rogers and his agent.

"It went really well," Rogers said. "It was a chance for me to meet the coaches and see the facilities. I liked the team, and it seemed like they (were) very interested."

Wright said the trip to Pittsburgh was encouraging for Rogers because the Steelers have a strong history of draft picks making their roster.

While there may be some doubt as to where Rogers will go this weekend, there's no doubt he will be with an NFL team before the start of the 2007 season.

"You never say never," Wright said, "but I just can't fathom Rogers not being in the NFL next year."