CRANBERRY TWP — Brandon Fusco will be part of the NFL Draft April 28 to 30. The only question is which part.

The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Seneca Valley High and Slippery Rock University graduate ranked highly in numerous categories during the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

“There were 84 offensive linemen there and the players took six different (athletic) tests,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “Brandon graded out in the top 10 among those linemen in all of them.”

Fusco finished third in the three-cone drill, fourth in the 20-yard shuttle, fifth in the broad jump and ninth in the 40-yard dash.

His efforts earned him one-on-one meetings with coaches from the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers.

He met head coaches Bill Belichick, Ken Whisenhunt, Jason Garrett and Norv Turner during those meetings.

“You see those guys on TV all the time and all of a sudden you’re in a room with them going over film and answering questions,” Fusco said. “I’m used to this process now. I wasn’t nervous at all.”

Fusco will have his pro day next Thursday at Lehigh University, sharing that stage with Lehigh guard Will Rackley. Both are represented by agent Alan Herman.

“There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff at that combine that I was never aware of,” Fusco said. “The first three days were a lot of medical stuff — MRIs, X-rays, everything.

“They get into your background, why you chose your school. They want to know everything about you. They want to be sure you’re the right choice if they pick you,” he added.

NFL Draft Scout rates Fusco as the fifth best center out of 86 considered for the draft and projects him as a fifth-round selection.

Besides his pro day, Fusco will receive personal visits from the Kansas City Chiefs March 23, the New York Giants (at Lehigh) March 28 and the Philadelphia Eagles March 29. The Chiefs and Eagles will meet with him at SRU.

“We’ll spend 45 minutes looking at film, then their coaches will put me through a 30- to 45-minute workout on the field,” Fusco said. “My agent thinks a couple more teams will schedule visits, too. I’m pretty encouraged by that.”

So is Mihalik.

“I doubt coaches will make these trips for a fifth- or sixth-round pick,” he said. “Something tells me he’s going higher.”

Herman said it’s too early to project what round or to what team Fusco may be headed.

“It’s safe to say he’ll get drafted,” Herman said. “Teams have to figure out whether Brandon is a good fit for their scheme, and being a Division II player, his level of competition will always be questioned.

“That’s why we got him in the Senior Bowl. He improved as that week on, as he adjusted to the competition. That will probably hold true in the pros, too.

“Where the Combine helped is that coaches got a close look at Brandon’s footwork. They liked how he used his feet and now they see that’s another tool they can work with,” Herman added.

The agent said most Division II players are viewed as “projects” by NFL teams.

“They see the potential, get them into camp and develop them,” Herman said. “Guys like Brandon break in as back-up centers and become a starter after a few years.

“Players like that are usually picked in the later rounds. It’s tough on Division II guys,” he added.

Fusco is simply awaiting the opportunity.

“It’s been a hard and stressful road, but I’m relaxing and enjoying it at the same time,” he said.