01:00 AM EDT on Monday, April 25, 2005

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

FOXBORO -- It was a proud weekend for the Fresno State Bulldogs. After taking offensive lineman Logan Mankins with the 32nd overall pick on Saturday, the Patriots came back yesterday and took Fresno safety James Sanders in the fourth round with the 133rd overall pick.

Their college head coach, Pat Hill, promised the Patriots were getting quality players and quality "young men."

"I'm really proud of how they work," Hill said yesterday. "Logan in his five years here; James in his four years. They were both outstanding. They were accountable in all areas, never on a (negative) list. They're real dependable with a lot of integrity. They're both tough young men that play the game the way it's supposed to be played. Now they're going to be playing for a person I have a lot of respect for and someone we've modeled our program after."

Hill was speaking of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick , who hired Hill as a tight ends/offensive line coach with the Browns in the early 1990s.

Fresno State, which went 9-3 last year and finished 22nd in the final Associated Press poll, had 15 players on opening-day NFL rosters last year.

Most of them, Hill pointed out, were second-day picks. Part of the reason they're making it in the NFL -- in addition to talent -- is the way Hill prepares them at Fresno.

"My five years (coaching in the NFL) helped prepare me to help these young men manage their own lives and handle the pressures of playing there," said Hill. "It takes a special guy to play in that league, and Logan and James are outstanding guys who will continue to be that way. I worked with Bill for four years. A lot of things we do are similar to what they do. We practice in a hard manner -- very physical with a lot of conditioning."

Asked about Sanders, Hill said, "He's a very physical safety. He could have played linebacker. He's tough, but his intelligence is probably one of his greatest strengths. He understands the game. He plays with a physical attitude."

Mankins, Hill said, "is a fine player, a very durable guy. He's good enough to play any of the five (offensive line) positions. It's hard to find guys to do that."

True to his word

At about 11:30 Saturday night, Belichick ambled up to the press room at Gillette Stadium and apologized unnecessarily for the length of the draft proceedings.

Soon after, he added, "We have seven picks tomorrow. I'd be surprised if we used all seven of those. Seven players is more than what we would want to draft, but we'll see what happens. That could change, but that would be my instinct for tonight."

It didn't change. New England added four more players yesterday, swinging deals with Detroit, Green Bay and Oakland. Some of those picks were related to positioning, but the Pats also were able to get out of picks they didn't need this year and add an extra fourth and fifth-round pick next year.

The Patriots now have 10 picks heading into the 2006 draft. They have one pick in each of the seven rounds and extra picks in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

Biography updates

Addressing some of the team's late picks Saturday night, Belichick said of cornerback Ellis Hobbs from Iowa State, "We think he is a tough kid who has some cover skills, runs well, is a strong tackler, and a good competitor. I think he's got some good value for us on defense and also hopefully in the kicking game."

On Toledo lineman Nick Kaczur: "He played left tackle at Toledo. We feel like he has some position flexibility. He is a smart guy, a tough guy, and [has] a good motor. We feel like he did a good job at that level in the MAC. There have been a few linemen who have come out of there in the last few years, about one or two every year it seems like. I feel like he has been very competitive relative to that group which have all played in the league at some point."

Squib kicks

Since joining the WAC in 1992, Fresno State has had 25 players drafted into the league. . . . Kaczur was ejected from Toledo's bowl game in 2002 for punching Boston College defensive end Phillip Mettling sounds like he may have been targeting Mankins early in the second round. He said Saturday, " When New England, a team that I respect, takes a player you like, I think we are hitting the target." The 49ers took Michigan lineman David Baas one pick after Mankins. . . . Hobbs returned kickoffs at Iowa State last year for a 24.3 yard average. . . . Belichick said Saturday, "We never feel like you can have too many corners or too many people in the secondary because their ability to play in the passing game and also ultimately in the kicking game. Those are your athletes that can run and play out in space, which you need on fourth downs. Hopefully, Ellis will be able to contribute for us in that area, too." . . . Belichick said he spoke with Dolphins coach, close friend and former pipeline to the Patriots Nick Saban was the final pick of the draft, he earned the title, "Mr. Irrelevant." The final pick in each draft is feted in Orange County, Calif., with a banquet and a golf tournament. Asked about it, Belichick said, "It's a lot of hype. There is not much difference to me between the 255th player and the 254th other than the trip to Wally World or whatever it is." . . . Ralph Plumb of Portsmouth signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent last night. Plumb was a wide receiver at Yale. The Patriots signed Villanova safety Ray Ventrone as a free agent.