Wings and a player.

Alex Barron spreads his wings. As the distance between his fingertips grows wider, you can imagine him embracing ... what? A Mini Cooper? A sequoia? An entire church congregation? Each of his arms is 38 1/4 inches long--fine for warding off pass rushers, but not so convenient when shopping for dress shirts that cover the wrists.

That's all right. In a few weeks, Barron will be rich enough to afford an entire wardrobe of custom clothes.

The Florida State tackle is considered the best offensive lineman in this year's NFL draft, and War Room scouts rate him as the No. 1 player overall. If there were any doubts, Barron solidified his status at Florida State's pro day last Tuesday. He put up impressive numbers in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, and he performed well in position drills for about 10 NFL offensive line coaches.

"He ran fast, he's huge, and he's a gifted athlete," says one AFC college scout. "There's no question about his tools. The big thing for him is to make sure the game is real important to him. Over the years, there have been a lot of gifted-in-ability guys who went through our league and never made a dent."

There was a time when Barton wondered if he would make an impression on the college football landscape. In his first practice at FSU, as a 17-year-old freshman in 2000, he suffered multiple torn knee ligaments that required reconstructive surgery. Doubt set in. "I didn't think it was for me," he says. "I was ready to leave."

Four and a half years later, he's exiting in style. He leaves Florida State as a two-time consensus All-American. He is the ninth player in school history to be ...