Marvin Austin (AP)

A league source had confirmed a report from Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune that the Patriots had North Carolina defensive lineman Marvin Austin in for an official pre-draft visit on Friday. Austin is a 6-foot-2, 309-pounder who was suspended for the entire 2010 season for what the NCAA called “violations of NCAA agent benefits, preferential treatment and ethical conduct rules,” specifically two trips to California and two trips to Miami.

Each team is allowed up to 30 players for pre-draft visits, and we have been able to confirm three of them for the Patriots — Austin, Miami defensive lineman Allen Bailey and Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter.

Despite the off-the-field problems, Austin is considered by many to be a second-round pick. In 2009, he played in all 13 games making 11 starts and finishing with 42 tackles, 6.0 tackles for losses and four sacks. He certainly impressed at the combine, where he ran an unofficial 4.9-second 40-yard dash and bench-pressed 225 pounds 38 times, the second most by anyone regardless of position.

Speaking at the combine, he said the year away from football was one of toughest of his life.

“It’s still hard to watch some of the stuff that’s said about my character,” Austin said. “I’ve never taken a drink in my life, I’ve never smoked in my life. I’ve done everything to get to this point but one mistake, taking a couple of trips — and one of them was taken to help me get better as an athlete — has cost me my whole senior season and my image.

“It was a mental mistake. I got ahead of myself. I learned that I can never take anything for granted. This is a privilege. To be here is a privilege. A lot of guys would kill to be in the shoes of all of the 300 guys here and so you have to take advantage of it and never abuse the privilege. I went from being one of the top players and prospects in the nation to being a guy that is not even talked about. And it was a tough situation having to sit back and watch all the other defensive linemen go out and play and perform and not be able to do anything. It made you put things in perspective a lot more.”

Here’s some video of Austin in action:

Brooks Reed (AP)

A league source says that while the Patriots have worked out Arizona defensive end/linebacker Brooks Reed, they have apparently not had him in to Foxboro for an on-site visit. The source said Reed was one of three Arizona defensive ends New England recently put through a workout — and that the Patriots did focus on Reed — but Reed has not visited the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. (That would run contrary to initial reports that Reed had an official visit with New England late last month.)

Even though it seems incidental, there is a fundamental difference between a workout and an on-site visit. While teams are allowed to conduct as many workouts as possible, they are allowed to host up to 30 prospects on pre-draft visits to the facility. (Thus far, the only two pre-draft visits for the Patriots that we have been able to confirm are Miami defensive lineman Allen Bailey and Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter.)

Reed is a 6-foot-3, 263-pounder who was a defensive end in college. He had 114 career tackles at UA and 17 career sacks, and earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior. However, his size and speed leave many thinking he would make a nice transition to outside linebacker at the next level. His time of 4.65 seconds for the 40-yard dash at the combine was among the fastest for defensive ends and linebackers, and his initial burst of 1.54 over the first 10 yards left many believing Reed will be a late first-round or early second-round selection.

Allen Bailey (AP)

A league source has confirmed a report that the Patriots had Miami defensive lineman Allen Bailey in for a visit on Thursday.

Bailey is a 6-foot-3, 285-pounder who played defensive end and defensive tackle with the Hurricanes, and recorded 19 sacks in his college career, including seven as a senior. He recorded 31 tackles for a loss in with Miami, including 11 in 2010.

His numbers are off the charts for a many of his size: he’s posted a 4.71 in the 40, as well as a 36 1/2 inch vertical leap and a 9-foot-9 broad jump. Projected as a possible late first-round or early second-round selection — NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said “there’s no way [he] gets out of the second round” — the Patriots worked out Bailey early last month, then got another good look at him at Miami’s Pro Day. Bailey reportedly also has visits lined up with the Falcons, Broncos and Buccaneers.

A converted linebacker, Bailey has some positional versatility. In an interview at the NFL scouting combine last month, Bailey — who stayed at Miami for all four years, playing 50 games, just two shy of Brandon Meriweather for most in school history — talked a little but about his ability to play both defensive tackle and defensive end, as well as how the transition went as a collegian.

“It was an adjustment. I’d played strictly outside the last three years, so it was an adjustment going inside,” Bailey said, “[But] I got the swing of everything and adjusted pretty well.”

Bailey is the second confirmed player to make a pre-draft visit to Foxboro — Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter was the other. Teams are allowed to host up to 30 prospects at their facility prior to the draft.

For more on Bailey, check out our profile on him here. And here’s some video of his work at Miami:

Kendall Hunter (AP)

A league source confirmed the report that Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter had a visit with the Patriots in Foxboro on Tuesday.

Hunter is a 5-foot-7, 200-pounder who was a two-time consensus All-American, an academic All-Big 12 selection and a finalist for the 2010 Doak Walker Award given to America’s top running back as a senior. He finished his career with the Cowboys as the fourth-leading rusher in Oklahoma State history with 4,181 yards and is fourth in school history with 37 rushing touchdowns

Seen by many as someone who could be taken anywhere between the late first and early third round, his 40 times have ranked between 4.46 and 4.53. At the combine, he registered a 35 1/2 inch vertical leap, a 10-foot-2 broad jump. He also had 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench and had a 6.74 3-cone drill.

His numbers have been impressive, but one of the things that have really stuck out for many about Hunter is his work in blitz pickup. It’s a trait the Patriots look for in their running backs, and even though he’s regarded as slightly undersized, several national analysts — including Mike Mayock of the NFL Network — have singled out Hunter for his work as a blocker.

“At Oklahoma State, that’s the number one thing we do besides ball carry — if you can’t block, you ain’t playing,” Hunter said. “Even though I didn’t end up blocking that much, but at practice, you be blocking all the time. You go against linebackers almost every other day.”

The news was first reported by the National Football Post.