Justin Harrell has been counting the days.

And there have been a lot of them since the premature ending of the University of Tennessee star's senior football season last September.

Harrell ruptured a tendon in his left biceps in game two against Air Force, and a lesser man would have called it a season. But Harrell, a team captain, wanted to go out on his own terms, so he bandaged his biceps and played one more game against Florida before heading to surgery.

"It has been such a long time since I've even been on the field, so the draft process the last couple of months has been extra long," said Harrell, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle who is projected as a first-round selection in Saturday's NFL draft. "Going through the (NFL) combine, all the workouts, the interviews. I've been all over the country. I'm just ready for my name to be called, get to a field, put some pads on and play football."

Harrell, a former Class 2A Mr. Football in 2001 at Martin Westview High, knows how to battle through injuries. He broke his ankle before his '03 season in Knoxville, yet came back to play the final eight games of the year.

Naturally, NFL teams were curious about Harrell's injury, It's almost has if he's had to carry images of X-rays and MRIs on all his face-to-face interviews with interested teams.

"A lot of teams questioned my arm, whether I was back from my injury," Harrell said. "All 32 (NFL) team doctors twisted and pulled on it in Indianapolis (at the NFL combine), and it was re-checked at the end of the month. I was confident in my arm."

He further answered health questions by his workouts at the combine and a few weeks later at Tennessee's pro day, March 21. At the combine, Harrell ran his two 40s in 5.04 and 5.07 and also recorded a 30 1/2-inch vertical jump, 9-foot long jump and 24 bench presses at 225 pounds, raising that to 31 repetitions at 225 at pro day.

It sent the message that Harrell had recovered physically. As far as the football part, NFL teams had seen enough on film to know he can be a disruptive force.

In 35 games with 25 starts, Harrell had 82 tackles (46 solos) with four sacks for minus-32 yards and 14 stops for losses of 57 yards. He had 21 quarterback pressures, recovered two fumbles and caused four others. He knocked down eight passes and intercepted two for 36 yards in returns, including a touchdown.

Harrell also received positive reviews from Tennessee coaches about his leadership abilities and heart, which were on display when he decided to play one last game for the Vols despite the torn biceps.

"I didn't want my last memory of Tennessee to be getting hurt against Air Force and sitting out the entire second half," Harrell said. "When the doctors told me I couldn't damage the biceps any further, the chance to play a team the caliber of Florida was my chance to end my career the way I wanted."

Harrell, playing with basically one arm, had three tackles, including one for a loss, in Tennessee's 21-20 loss to the eventual national champion Gators.

"What he showed to our football team was an unbelievable amount of mental and physical toughness," Tennessee defensive line coach Dan Brooks said. "He gave everything he had for Tennessee."

Todd McShay, ESPN's director of college scouting from Scout Inc., agreed with Brooks, saying scouts went back to Harrell's films two seasons ago to get a true indication of his talent.

"The more scouts are watching film from his '05 season, the more they are falling in love with his tenacity, toughness and quickness," McShay said of Harrell. "He's an impressive athlete for his size, and he improved as a pass rusher over his career. He's one of the fast risers in this draft."

Harrell said the road back from the biceps tear wasn't easy.

"After I had my surgery following the Florida game, I was down for a couple of weeks," Harrell said. "It was tough watching games on the sidelines, knowing how hard I worked to prepare for my senior year to answer all the questions that scouts had about me.

"It took a few weeks for me to realize I still had a future in football. The Tennessee coaches, Coach (Phillip Fulmer) and Coach Brooks reassured me even with the injury that my NFL future was good. So I went to work getting myself back to the level I was before."

Harrell had contemplated jumping to the NFL after his junior season in '05, when he was a second-team All-SEC selection.

A standout on a nationally ranked defense, despite Tennessee's 5-6 record, Harrell totaled 39 tackles (21 solos) with 2 1/2 sacks and 7 1/2 stops behind the line of scrimmage. He intercepted a pair of passes, returning one for a touchdown, and was credited with eight pressures. He also caused one fumble and batted away three passes.

But the feedback he got from scouts was that he'd be no better than a second-round pick. Harrell even admitted he wasn't ready to handle the mental strain of playing in the NFL.

During his time away from football last season, Harrell worked out and did his homework on picking an agent (he chose Eugene Parker).

"I felt like some good came out of the injury, because I was able to sit back and prepare myself for this next step," Harrell said.

And that's the way Harrell has looked at his career. Step by step, stage by stage.

"When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to play football in college," Harrell said. "But I never thought I'd end up at a place at Tennessee. That opportunity came, and I took it and ran with it.

"Then when I got to Tennessee, the NFL was in the back of my mind. I knew I'd have to work real hard, and maybe one day it would happen.

"And it's here now. When I hear my name, it will finally become real."