Saturday can't come soon enough for Max Unger.

The Hawai'i Preparatory Academy graduate and former University of Oregon offensive lineman is regarded as the second-best center in this year's NFL draft and is projected to be selected sometime in the first two rounds.

After a good showing in January's Senior Bowl, Unger participated in February's NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.35 seconds and did 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. He also had private workouts with several teams between the combine and Oregon's Pro Day last month.

"It's been pretty intense, especially the combine," Unger said. "It's about four days and it's pretty much full speed every day. We didn't work out until the last day, so you're already pretty spent and there's a lot of guys there. They put us through all kinds of stuff. It was pretty stressful."

But Unger — who is listed at 6 feet 4 and 309 pounds — has attempted to keep an even-keel throughout the process.

"It's so much different from being recruited to play in college because really there's nothing you can do about it, so there's no point in getting worked up," he said. "I think I just kind of want to get it over with."

Unger didn't think the NFL was within his reach until the 2008 season was over.

"I guess my goals have been pretty basic; I wasn't highly recruited (out of high school), my only scholarship was to Oregon, which graduated a bunch of guys when I got there, so I was pretty lucky that I was able to play a lot," Unger said. "The NFL thing didn't come into the picture until my junior year and even before then it wasn't really a big goal of mine."

Unger played left tackle as a freshman and sophomore before moving to center for his junior and senior seasons. He earned All-Pac-10 honors in all four seasons.

"It was pretty fun playing in the Pac-10," Unger said. "There's a lot of Hawai'i guys that play up here; almost every week I would see a guy from Hawai'i on the defensive line across from me. It's a good conference and I'm going to miss it. It was a good time."

Unger, who will take in the draft from Eugene, Ore. along with his parents, said he hasn't paid much attention to projections or mock drafts.

"Not so much the mock drafts, but definitely, I take an interest in who my agent has talked to," he said. "You're definitely slotted in an area, but you still can't take too much stock in that stuff."

On one hand, Saturday will be the culmination of years of hard work, but also the beginning of what Unger hopes will be a long, prosperous career in the NFL.

"It's pretty surreal. This date has been looming over my head and it's so weird to think that it's almost here. I haven't quite let it sink in yet," Unger said. "I think my heart will be pounding for a while, but I think I'm going to feel relieved to know what's going to happen next and where I'm going to live. It's all up in the air right now."