Having good bloodlines might not weigh heavily with NFL general managers, but it can't hurt. This year's draft is loaded with prospects with family ties to professional sports.

Heading the list is Virginia defensive end Chris Long, the son of hall of fame defensive lineman Howie Long of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders.

As his father stays in the background, the younger Long is among those being considered for the first pick in the NFL Draft this weekend.

''It's not his style to want to steal the spotlight from his sons,'' Chris Long said of his father at the combine. ''I have two little brothers and he does the same with them. It's a testament to the fact that he's such a humble guy. I've said, 'Dad, you're an old man now. It's not your time anymore.' He has done a great job with that and I am grateful. I've matured to the point that now I am comfortable sharing that spotlight.''

The group also includes Northwestern State (La.) offensive tackle Demetrius Bell (son of NBA great Karl Malone) and Utah State guard Shawn Murphy (son of Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy).

Murphy, 25, spent two years on a church mission trip to Brazil after his college freshman season. Exposed to the violent world of drug dealers and robbed a few times, he said, it made him appreciate his life in Utah, where the family moved because his mother grew up there.

Murphy gave up baseball after his junior year in high school and has played only offensive line for two years.

''I remember if I struck out, I'd hear it from the stands, 'Oh, they struck out Dale Murphy's son,' '' he said. ''But in football, if I get beat, they're not going to get down on me, so there is less pressure. I could do my own thing.''

The list of family connections includes Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge (nephew of Boston Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge), Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm (brother of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Brohm), UNLV defensive end Jeremy Geathers (son of 13-year NFL defensive lineman Jumpy Geathers and cousin of Cincinnati Bengals' end/linebacker Robert Geathers Jr.), Alabama defensive back Simeon Castille (son of former Denver Broncos defensive back and Browns foil Jeremiah Castille and brother of Arizona Cardinals fullback Tim Castille), Florida receiver Andre Caldwell (brother of St. Louis Rams receiver Reche Caldwell), Missouri tight end Martin Rucker (brother of Carolina Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker), Minnesota safety Dominique Barber (brother of Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III), Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason (son of Atlanta Falcons defensive back Wendell Cason and cousin of former Dallas Cowboys receiver Ken-Yon Rambo), Texas safety Marcus Griffin (twin brother of Tennessee Titans defensive back Michael Griffin), Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson (brother of Minnesota Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson), LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith (cousin of NFL running back Alonzo Highsmith), Tennessee State cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (cousin of San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie), USC quarterback John David Booty (brother of former Browns quarterback Josh Booty) and Michigan State safety Nememiah Warrick (cousin of former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Peter Warrick).

A mother's dire straits

USC guard Chilo Rachal is a semester from graduating with a degree in sociology, but he entered the draft after his junior year because of his mother's serious medical condition.

Rachal said at the combine that Veronica Pickett, 39, ''has a tumor the size of a 6-month-old in her stomach,'' and his father, Charles Rachal, 64, recently needed surgery for two hernias. They live in Compton, Calif., and Rachal said neither has medical insurance.

''She's getting the treatment she can now, but without the good insurance, you can't get the treatment you really need,'' Rachal said of his mother, who he said is receiving only state government assistance from Medi-Cal.

Rachal said his father has tendinitis in his knees, but ''carries wheelbarrows up and down the stairs every day to take care of my mother.''

''I love my mother and I'm going to do the best I can to put her in a better situation,'' Rachal said. ''She's my motivation every day I wake up.

''I would have loved to come back and get my degree and play another year under coach (Pete) Carroll. At the same time, I had to do what's best for my family.''

Rachal said his mother didn't tell him about her illness until after the final regular-season game because she thought it would be a distraction. The Trojans finished 10-2, then pounded Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

Rachal had three brothers and a sister but said two of his brothers died violently in the streets, one just after he was born and the other when he was about 9.

''My mom raised me differently than them,'' Rachal said. ''My mom and dad did a good job of sheltering me from that stuff. Me knowing the path they took and how they ended up definitely motivated me.''

At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, Rachal describes himself as a '''mauler and glass-eater'' who can play guard or tackle. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has rated him the second-best guard behind Branden Albert of Virginia.

Higher calling

When he lost his grandfather to a form of leukemia, University of Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason turned his grief into a tribute that he hopes will raise even more money for the American Cancer Society when he reaches the NFL.

After Royce Rambo died from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) last February, Cason started a foundation with former teammate Matthew Brooks, who lost three family members to cancer. They needed help from Arizona's compliance office to wade through NCAA and Pac-10 red tape before they could sell $3 wristbands with their slogan, ''Cason Cares.''

''He was a role model to me. He's done everything for the family,'' Cason said of his grandfather. ''My senior year I wanted to do something to honor him.''

Cason said he and Brooks raised about $7,000 in two months. He was thrilled when members of the Phoenix Suns, including General Manager Steve Kerr, wore the bracelets, similar to the ''Livestrong'' ones popularized by cyclist Lance Armstrong.

''Everything is me, me, all the time,'' Cason said. ''I wanted to give back and do something positive (that) pretty much everyone can relate to.''

The process wasn't easy. He and Brooks conceived the idea in June and didn't get approval until September.

''The NCAA and the Pac-10 turned it down because my name was on it,'' Cason said. ''I guess they thought it was personal gain. We had to write letters that this was nothing (about) me. It was a long, long process.

''People thought we weren't serious. We had the stick-to-itiveness to keep going and stay on the compliance guy, the athletic director and everyone involved to keep moving forward.''

Once the wristbands were ready to sell, Cason's days were still long.

''I had weights at 8, school all day, practice and then we would go over things and I wouldn't get home until 9:30,'' he said.

The project didn't seem to distract Cason from football. Last season he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back, intercepting five passes and scoring four touchdowns, two on punt returns.

''Antoine Cason is truly one of the very best young student-athletes I've ever had the pleasure of knowing,'' Arizona director of athletics Jim Livengood said via e-mail. ''After 40 years in this profession, I can honestly say that very few if any of our student-athletes have done more, accomplished more or have had more of an impact on a university, its athletic program and the community than Antoine.''

Like Casey Blake. . .

Pro Football Weekly's 2008 Draft Preview called Iowa State's Todd Blythe ''a solid college football player with no standout qualities for the pro game.''

If the 6-foot-5, 214-pound wide receiver ever starts to believe that, he can look to Casey Blake for inspiration.

Blake and Blythe were multi-sport lettermen at Indianola High School in Iowa. Blythe's father, Jim, a former catcher in the San Francisco Giants organization, coached Blake.

Despite being drafted by three baseball organizations and going to the College World Series with Wichita State, Blake bounced around the minor leagues until he was nearly 30 before getting his chance at third base with the Indians.

''He was elite, all-state in football, basketball, baseball and track,'' Blythe said of Blake. ''He was unbelievable, one of the best athletes I have ever seen. The fact he was so successful at everything he did really impressed me. He was a quarterback in football and a shortstop and pitcher in baseball.''

Blythe is a similar kind of athlete. At Iowa State's pro day, he ran the 40 in 4.58 seconds and hit 321/2 inches in the vertical jump. He played baseball, basketball and football at Indianola, where he was a running back until his sophomore year.

''Basketball was probably my worst sport,'' Blythe said. ''I really couldn't dribble or outshoot anybody, but I was taller and more athletic than most of the guys. In football, everybody at the pro level will be as athletic as you, or more so. You have to really learn techniques, especially at wide receiver as far as running routes.''

Blake has met Blythe, first remembering him as ''just a little dude running around when I was in high school.''

But after Blake saw Blythe play receiver at Indianola, Blake decided he needed to have a talk with the quarterback.

''I told him, 'Just throw it up there and he'll get it. Throw it to him every time,' '' Blake said. ''He was a full head taller than anyone covering him.''

When Blythe went to Iowa State, Blake saw him only on television. Blake also knows of Blythe because his little sister was in Blythe's high school class.

''He's fairly quiet. I never heard him act cocky to try to get any notoriety,'' Blake said.

A refugee of war

Michigan State running back Jehuu Caulcrick moved to America from warn-torn Liberia when he was 9 years old. He said his father was assassinated (reportedly when he was running for president) and his family fled and bounced around refugee camps.

''We had no time to be scared. We were just running for our lives,'' he said. ''I was fortunate enough to come to America and start a new life.''

Caulcrick ended up in Clymer, N.Y., near the Pennsylvania border. His high school graduating class had 26 students.

''It was different from what I was used to, but it's very good,'' he said. ''I appreciate everybody back there and how they helped me out, and I still consider that home.''

The perfect mentor

Georgia Tech punter Durant Brooks might not have won the Ray Guy Award last season if his mother hadn't sold a horse — to Ray Guy.

''It was my junior year and he was buying a horse for his daughter and she mentioned that I was a punter in high school,'' Brooks said. ''He was like, 'You ought to send him to one of my camps.' I looked him up on the Internet after that and saw the records he had, not just punting, but as a free safety. He was unbelievable.''

Brooks went to Guy's camp before his senior year. But the two kept their distance during Brooks' college career, mainly because of the political aspects of the award named for Guy.

''People might say I won or I'm up for it just because I'm friends with him,'' Brooks said. As for the night Guy handed him the award, Brooks said, ''Having the connection that I did with him, it was just awesome.''

The two had an individual session at Southern Mississippi before Brooks went to the combine.

''He taught me everything,'' Brooks said. ''I can't think of a greater guy than that to have as a mentor.''

Some Ohioans to watch

• Mario Manningham, Michigan receiver: He reportedly lied at the combine about past marijuana use, but the Biletnikoff Award finalist said he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of another Warren Harding alum, Maurice Clarett. ''Anybody would say, 'Whoa, I don't want to be like that,' '' Manningham said.

• Fred Davis, Southern Cal tight end: The Mackey Award winner from Toledo Rogers High School almost went to Ohio State. ''That was one of the main schools I thought about,'' he said. ''I liked coach Tressel a lot.''

• John Greco, Toledo offensive tackle: The Youngstown Boardman graduate, first team all-Mid-American Conference for the past three years, attended the same high school and grade school as Bernie Kosar. ''He's a huge competitor,'' Greco said. ''I heard that name growing up, looking at all his accomplishments.''

• Mike McGlynn, Pitt offensive lineman: An Austintown Fitch product, now 6-4 and 311 pounds, he had to weigh in every Saturday morning for youth football. ''It was cold, I'd be down to my underwear and my dad used to hang me upside-down so I'd lose a couple pounds to make the weight,'' McGlynn said. ''When I was 9, I was playing with 12- and 13-year-olds.''