Courtney Upshaw could be a fit for the Patriots. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — One of the highlights of Saturday’s player availability at the scouting combine came from Alabama pass-rusher Courtney Upshaw.

Given that he played in Nick Saban‘s system, Upshaw, who is undersized (6-foot-1, 272 pounds) but good at getting after the quarterback, seemed like a potential fit.

That’s why it came as no surprise that the Boston Herald asked about the Pats during Upshaw’s availability. The question was about whether he sees similarities between the system he plays and the Pats’ defense that he sees when he watches them on TV.

“Honestly, I’m a Colts fan, so I particularly try to watch the Colts all the time,” Upshaw explained. “Watching the championship game, I’m also a big defensive fan, so I kind of paid more attention to the Giants because I know [Justin] Tuck and my friend [receiver] Jerrel Jernigan played for them. I was really focusing on the Giants. I really haven’t caught too many Patriots games, to be honest with you.”

Obviously, Upshaw didn’t mean to slight the Patriots, but it doesn’t get anymore comically bad than that. Remember, these players are coached to handle these interviews well.

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INDIANAPOLIS — It was over four and a half hours before a running back came out to speak to the media Friday, but the first one was an interesting one in Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas.

The son of two pastors and a former quarterback whose low grades and SAT scores forced him to go the junior college route, Thomas is one to keep an eye on.

A well-rounded back who the Patriots could potentially nab in the third-round area, Thomas put up big numbers in his two years at Kansas State. After fielding numerous offers from top schools out of junior college, he chose Kansas State over other schools because they were the only program that viewed him as a corner back. Other schools including Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Baylor wanted him, but only as a defensive back.

Now, after back-to-back 1,200 yard seasons at Kansas State (including a 1,585-yard senior campaign), Thomas is in that mix of second-tier backs after Mark Ingram and Mikel Leshoure. He said he would compare himself to “Larry Johnson in his prime” and that when it comes to this class, he doesn’t take a back seat.

“Right at the top with the best,” he said when asked where he ranks in this class.

Not the speediest guy in the world, Thomas will not run in Indianapolis due to an injured hamstring. He measured here at the combine at 6-foot-0 and 230 pounds.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Everyone knows that “The U” sends quality receivers to the NFL. Leonard Hankerson just hopes he’s the next one.

From guys in the past like Michael Irvine, to current NFL players like Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, and Reggie Wayne, Hankerson has a lot to live up to. For a guy who broke Irvin’s single-season touchdown record last season, he feels he’s doing the job thus far.

“Being able to have my name mentioned with the great receivers that came out of the University of Miami, comes from working hard, doing what you’ve got to do off the field, and on the field, in the weight room, film room,” he said Friday. “I feel like I’m living up to that dream.”

Hankerson isn’t the quickest guy, but he has decent size and very good hands. His favorite Miami receiver is Johnson, who has become one of the best receivers in the NFL since the Texans chose him third overall in 2003.

“Big receiver, big physical receiver, fast,” Hankerson said. “I love his game.”

For more of a look at Hankerson, check out our entry on him in the “Potential Patriots” series.

Greg Little doesn't strike you as a kid who would get in as much trouble as he did. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — We just finished up talking to receiver Greg Little, though he’s probably known more for being in the improper benefits scandal at UNC than for his play off to field. Spend one minute — let alone 10 — with him and there’s only one thought that comes to mind.

This kid got in trouble?

Little attended the party in South Beach that set off a major investigation into UNC and led to suspensions for multiple players and the resignation of defensive line coach John Blake. The party took place at agent Gary Wichard‘s house, and Little, as well as a group that included teammates Robert Quinn and Marvin Austin, all faced NCAA discipline. Little, who along with  was suspended for the entire season, yet Friday, he came off unmistakably as a high-character player.

Rather than playing the “it’s in the past” card ,Little, who put pictures online from the party, was very sincere and remorseful.

“It was tough to know that essentially that I started the whole investigation, and that was one of the things that was very bearing and vey hard to deal with,” he said. “It was something that will haunt me forever, to know that my team could have won a national championship if I played along with them.”

Little, who played behind Brandon Tate early in his UNC career, spent the season training at a high school in Durham, N.C, with MMA fighter Wayne Huner.

“It was the most unorthodox training I’ve ever done,” Little said, “but it also put me in the best shape of my life.”

That bring Little to Indianapolis and the NFL combine. The 6-foot-2 4/8, 231-pounder former running back said he doesn’t feel extra pressure to perform at the combine, but if he is as honest with teams as he was with the media, he’ll go a long ways at wiping away the “character issues” red flag. He was asked point blank whether he knew that what he was doing was wrong, and he had no problem confirming it and lamenting his thinking that he might not get in trouble.

“I know what I was doing was wrong,” he said. “For me to be that naiive or ignorant about was stupid on my part.

“Without saying this the wrong way, I think it was one of the best thing that every happened to me in my life. It was a very pivotal point, and a defining moment in my life, where I said, ‘hey, this is not who you are. This is something you’ve done. You’ve made a mistake and have to move on.’ That’s what I’m doing.”

UNC will let him participate in their Pro Day on March 30.

WEEI.com isn’t batting an eye when it comes to the 2010 NFL Draft. From interviews with experts to original mock drafts to weekly looks at potential Patriots, this is the place to be leading up to draft weekend, April 22-24.

Before WEEI.com’s first post-combine mock drops on Wednesday, here’s a look at some of the big-name players who impressed and disappointed at the combine and what it means for their draft stock. Keep in mind that defensive backs have yet to run, so we will have a better idea of what kind of overall shakeup there will be by the end of the day on Tuesday.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL Combine changes everything. You get a feel for which type of guys could be the face of a franchise, which type of guys are likely bombing team interviews and which guys belong in which scheme.

No pass-rusher in this draft has bigger upside than one-year wonder Jason Pierre-Paul (AP).

You also get a sense of which players might go where and which moves teams might have to make in order to have a successful draft. With the Patriots likely looking long and hard at linemen — whether they be five-technique 3-4 ends or undersized 4-3 ends who would move to outside linebacker — it becomes a little clearer which guys could realistically be available at No. 22.

Take Penn State’s Jared Odrick, for example. A common mock draft choice of the Patriots, Odrick could see his stock move himself perhaps into the top half of the draft. His versatility and football IQ alone were impressive enough over the weekend for teams to hold him in higher regard.

Odrick could be the guy who fills the shoes of Richard Seymour, but if the Patriots are committed to finding a true pass-rusher who can play standing up, moving up for South Florida’s Jason Pierre Paul — who on Monday ran a 4.64 40-yard dash — could be a discussion worth having.

“People say I’m raw,” Pierre-Paul said Saturday. “I just say I’m God-gifted.”

Not recruited by many big-time college programs because of his lack of size (he verbally committed to Central Florida before failing the FCAT placement test), Pierre-Paul played his freshman year at College of the Canyons (JC) in Valencia, Calif. From there he went to Fort Scott Community College in 2008 before transferring to Southern Florida and finally playing his first season of FBS competition as a junior.

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INDIANAPOLIS — When Dean Pees left the Patriots earlier this past offseason (reports differ as to whether he jumped or was pushed overboard after six years in New England, the last four as defensive coordinator), it was just a matter of time before he was linked to the vacant defensive coordinators’ position in Denver.

On the surface, it seemed like a natural move: Mike Nolan had left the Broncos defensive coordinator job for the same position in Miami. McDaniels and Pees were together on the New England staff from 2004 to 2008, and it was believed the two got along well together when they were together with the Patriots.

But this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels said Pees was never a serious candidate for the Denver job. Instead, it was a case of people putting two and two together and ending up with five.

“I had a relationship with Dean, obviously, in New England,” McDaniels said. “I think it was just a case where he was kind of out there, available, we had an opening and people seemed to connect the dots, probably mistakenly. Most of that conversation, there was no fruit to it.”

Instead, the Broncos decided to promote from within, elevating the popular linebackers coach Don “Wink” Martindale to the position of defensive coordinator. (Pees ended up as the linebackers coach in Baltimore.) It was a move some people believed was sparked after the players’ lobbied heavily for Martindale.

“We didn’t make any decisions based on that, but always the input from your players is something you would consider because their input obviously matters to us, what they think about a coach’s ability in their room is critical,” McDaniels said. “They provided great insight, some of which I knew, some of which I didn’t.

“We’re excited, we’re excited about the direction we’re going to go.”