By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 20, 2008

Branden Albert ambled toward the empty chair at the Gentlemen on Duty barber shop in Glen Burnie late Friday afternoon, finally reinserting a slice of normalcy into his life. He had waited about 25 minutes for his haircut, sitting next to an old high school friend, watching NBA highlights and "Martin" episodes on DVD on the shop's flat-screen television.

Albert had driven his black GMC Denali, dealer tags still pinned to the bumpers, 40 minutes across town, and it was worth it -- Larry, his barber, knew just how he liked his hair styled. He and Larry clasped hands and embraced.

"What's up, boy?" Larry asked.

Albert shook his head, a thin smile on his face. "I'm tired," he answered.

Tired from crisscrossing the country, visiting 10 NFL teams in 14 days. Tired from fighting traffic on his way home from his most recent meeting that morning in Ashburn with the Washington Redskins. Tired, ultimately, from the exhausting whirlwind that comes with becoming perhaps the fastest-rising player in this year's NFL draft.

When Albert, 23, decided to bypass his senior season at Virginia in early January and enter the draft, he saw some analysts listing him as a potential fourth-round selection. That has changed.

An eye-opening performance at the NFL combine in February rocketed him up draft boards. As teams became familiar with his 6-foot-7, 315-pound body, his sharp football mind and his ability to play guard and tackle, Albert rose higher.

On Saturday, Albert will be chosen, he believes, no later than 15th and most likely among the first 10 picks. Some experts predict Albert will be taken by the Kansas City Chiefs, who own the fifth choice.

"It's shocking, but it's exciting," said Ashley Sims, Albert's older brother and the man who pushed Albert from basketball to football. "His head is spinning right now, but it's a good thing."

The process left Albert drained Friday. Two weeks earlier he had flown to Houston, and only now had he come home. In between, he met with officials and head coaches from, in order, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, the New York Jets, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City and Washington.

He arrived in some cities by 1 a.m. and needed to meet with team officials by 7:30 that same morning. He worried the lack of sleep and upscale dinners would conspire to drive up his weight.

"It's tough -- you're tired, you're ready to go home," Albert said. "But you've still got to put on a show. But that's my situation being a top 10 pick. Some people might want to trade up and get me."

Scouts and personnel managers initially overlooked Albert for two reasons. One, scouts fixated on defensive end Chris Long when they watched Virginia. Two, Albert primarily played guard, and "people think you can get an offensive guard at the Dairy Queen down the street," he said.

But Albert also had played two games at tackle, a glamour spot in the NFL, and excelled. Once talent evaluators realized Albert's versatility, they looked closer.

Albert often considers how improbable his current position is. He grew up in Rochester, N.Y., as a basketball player, good enough despite weighing 340 pounds that he received several Division I scholarship offers. His mother kept him off of the city's hardscrabble streets, but she couldn't keep him from using school as a social event. So she sent him to live with Sims, a former defensive end at Maryland and now a parole officer, in Glen Burnie.

Sims immediately established rules -- no video games before homework, no calling home, no heading back to Rochester for Thanksgiving. And he would play football. He played for the first time as a junior at Glen Burnie, and he matured over a year of prep school at Hargrave Military Academy.

Now, in one week, football will make Albert a multimillionaire.

First, though, he wanted to look sharp. Larry wielded his scissors and asked Albert what he needed. "Shape me up, clean me up," he said. Larry snipped at Albert's already close-cropped hair, evened out his facial hair and used a razor to shape his eyebrows. Once finished, Larry put a mirror in front of Albert's face. "Perfect," Albert said.

He rose from the chair and hugged Larry again, but he couldn't stay long. He needed to drive to Charlottesville that night. Tomorrow is his final NFL meeting, a private workout on campus for the Chicago Bears. Albert hopped in his new truck and drove away, headed toward the next reminder that his life never would be the same.