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FOXBORO - Years ago, college athletes entering the NFL Draft looked at selection by the New England Patriots as a sentencing, not an opportunity.

That's changed, of course - and neither last year's Spygate controversy nor the Patriots' 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII has done anything to lessen the joy that Sunday's selections felt at joining the team.

"I feel like any college athlete that has played for any school would love to play for the Patriots," said cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, selected in the fourth round.

"During the football season, you have no choice but to watch the Patriots," he said. "They are always winning games and they are always a contender. For the past five or six years, I've been a Patriots fan and I have loved the team and coaches. I think they have outstanding coaches and I consider it a well-disciplined place, where any player would love to be around."

Wilhite, the Auburn product taken with the 129th overall selection, said he appreciated the discipline and organization that the Patriots represent. "It's a good situation," he said. "I think every team needs discipline, and I like the way the Patriots handle things."

Third-round pick Shawn Crable, the linebacker from Michigan, said he was impressed by how thoroughly his football knowledge was tested when he visited the Patriots' coaching staff before the draft.

"They put stats on the board and I watched them figure out what I have done at Michigan," he said. "They drew some plays on the board to see if I could remember them. They wanted to test to see what kind of football IQ I had things that you need to decide, what you were supposed to do on the field.

"They picked my brain about where I was from and things like that," he added. "I think most of it was that I met a lot of people and talked to a lot of people in different areas from secretaries to media. A lot of people had a lot of different things to say about what it would be like to be in the organization. It was a great learning experience, also with them picking my brain and seeing what I need."

Redefining a legacy

Fifth-round selection Matt Slater, a special-teams standout at UCLA, has great NFL bloodlines from his father, Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jackie Slater of the Los Angeles Rams. But obviously, the younger and speedier Slater didn't take after his dad physically, standing 6 feet and weighing 198 pounds.

"We've talked about that a lot," Matt Slater said via conference call. "I feel if I had been a lineman, I probably would have been a pretty good one because I would have had a great teacher. But I think I would prefer being able to run up and down the field and having speed as opposed to size. That's what I always tell my dad."

But that doesn't mean that the younger Slater didn't learn a lot from his father, or doesn't appreciate the example that was set by him.

"The thing that sticks out most in me is the way he worked," he said. "It wasn't necessarily the games; the games were great and you get to see that and everybody sees that on Sunday, but I saw the things about my dad that people didn't see - the blood, sweat and tears that he put into this game and how he prepared and the respect that he gave to the gave of football.

"I think that's something he has passed on to me," he said. History beckons

The NFL Draft has included the Patriots since 1967, when the American Football League and National Football League joined hands as a precursor to the full merger that would follow a few years later. So, it would naturally follow that the Patriots would have picked at the same positions in this year's draft as they have in the past.

But there weren't that many duplications, this year, and very few in the recent past.

When Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo became the Patriots' first selection at the No. 10 position, he became only the second Patriot ever selected there. The other was defensive end Ray Agnew of North Carolina State, in the 1990 draft.

Agnew was the Patriots' second selection in the top 10 that year, following linebacker Chris Singleton of Arizona at No. 8. Neither really panned out for the Patriots, although Agnew played five years here and another six for the Giants and Rams. He has a Super Bowl ring from his play with the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Crable was taken at No. 78, and the Patriots are hoping for more success from him than Bill Parcells had in 1994 when he selected Florida A&M nose tackle Ervin Collier in the third round. Collier didn't make it out of training camp, and in fact, didn't make it to the final cut.

You have to go back to 1978 to find a previous selection at 129 (where Wilhite was selected), linebacker Bill Matthews of South Dakota State. He played from 1979 through 1981, starting 10 of the 48 games he played wearing No. 53 for the Ron Erhardt-coached Pats.

Their last draft selection was No. 197 (Nebraska linebacker Bo Ruud), where they have picked twice before -- in 1982, taking linebacker Ken Collins of Washington State (who didn't make the team), and in 1968, taking defensive back Daryl Johnson of Morgan State, who stuck through 1971, starting 41 of 42 games.