Kansas defensive end David McMillan nearly sacked Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt in the second quarter during a game in October 2003 in Boulder, Colo. McMillan expects to be selected in this weekend’s NFL Draft in New York.

David McMillan has been waiting for this his entire life. This weekend the wait will be finished, as he is expected to be selected in the NFL Draft, which begins tomorrow in New York.

McMillan will stay in Lawrence rather than return to his home of Killeen, Texas, this weekend as he watches and hopes to be picked during the first day of the draft, which includes the first three of seven rounds.

McMillan said if he could pick anywhere to play he would like it to be down south, either in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami or Jacksonville.

“It’s been an adventure, I’ll tell you that,” McMillan said of the process leading up to draft day. “Obviously I got a chance to grow, athletically, and I learned some things that have helped me succeed in life and also at the next level.”

McMillan, who was a force on the Kansas defensive line last season, hopes to do the same at the next level playing on Sunday.

McMillan’s agent, Craig Domann, said McMillan had met with about a third of the teams in the league either flying to their locations or meeting them for workouts in Anschutz Pavilion.

McMillan impressed scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis when he ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash time among defensive ends at 4.60.

“I think it was important because it gave teams a reason to go back and watch him play,” Domann said of McMillan’s performance at the combine. “If you go back and watch him play against Oklahoma, he dominated their left tackle.”

Domann said that McMillan worked hard to prepare himself for the combine and it paid off. Domann said a lot of players understood that they needed to prepare, but not everyone did.

“He was one of the most athletic defensive players at the combine regardless of position,” Domann said.

Domann said he thought McMillan was borderline as to which day he would be drafted.

“He’s just one of those guys who will be popping champagne on Saturday night or you are going to be taking aspirin,” Domann said. “Some guys don’t even need to watch the draft on Saturday and some guys aren’t going to be around on Sunday. David is one of those guys who has an excellent chance to be drafted on Saturday.”

While scouts have expressed a concern with McMillan’s size — he was listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, when he played for the Jayhawks in 2004 — McMillan said he weighed nearly 265 pounds now.

“He has been working on getting stronger and more healthy and more athletic, all that type of stuff, but not necessarily putting on weight, not trying to be big,” Domann said.

Many teams have discussed the possibility of moving him to the linebacker position.

“I think that being a linebacker may be more of a natural position for me,” McMillan said. “They like my size right now though.”

Domann said scouts would be impressed by McMillan’s versatility.

“David’s a guy who initially can come in and play on third downs and be a D-end,” Domann said. “They are not looking for a guy to be superman yet. David has a lot of versatility where he can come in and be very valuable because he can play multiple positions.”

McMillan led the Jayhawks with seven sacks and 13 tackles for a loss last fall. McMillan finished his career on a strong note when he recorded three sacks against Missouri in his final game. For his career at Kansas, McMillan had 12 quarterback sacks.

McMillan is not the only Jayhawk that may be drafted this weekend. Senior center Joe Vaughn said he hoped to be drafted in the later rounds, but his size might also be concern. Senior wide receiver Brandon Rideau has the size that NFL scouts look for in a receiver and Rideau, like Vaughn, may be drafted in the later rounds. If these players are not drafted, they could be signed as free agents and work to get a spot on the roster through training camp.

McMillan spoke with Vaughn recently, he said.

“I hope for the best for them, so that they can get drafted and show everyone that they can play on that level also,” McMillan said.

— Edited by Austin Caster