Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Virginia's Eugene Monroe (left) was a preseason All-ACC pick at tackle and now is considered a potential first-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft. If that happens, Monroe would be the third UVa offensive lineman in the last four years to be selected in the first round, following in the footsteps of D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Branden Albert.

Eugene Monroe arrived at Virginia as the No. 1 prospect in the country, according to at least one service, and will depart as one of the top 10 choices -- maybe a top-five pick -- in this weekend's NFL Draft.

The legacy he leaves at Virginia is a little more murky.

"My career took me through a long journey," said Monroe last month at UVa's pro timing day.

Monroe, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound left tackle, received the Jacobs Blocking Trophy this past season as the ACC's top offensive lineman and he was a first-team All-ACC selection. The best he had done previously was honorable mention in 2007.

"The feeling here among those of us who have been around him every day is there's probably two [or] three more years' growth in Eugene's game," UVa coach Al Groh said.

Monroe played in every game as a true freshman in 2005, but he was the back-up to senior D'Brickashaw Ferguson at left tackle and did not start a game.

"We saw Eugene as the natural heir apparent," Groh said. "Behind 'Brick,' he was only going to play so much, but he was going to get a taste of it and be ready to go.

"Then, the second or third day of his first spring practice, he dislocated his knee. So, he missed the whole spring and was severely impeded by it over the course of the next season."

Monroe was so ineffective early in the season that he lost his starting job to Zak Stair, although he got his job back for the last month of the season and started six games overall.

Doctors had cleared Monroe to begin the 2006 season, "but, frankly, if we had a way to look into the future and known how much he was going to be impeded, we probably wouldn't have played him," Groh said.

Of course, the chances of Monroe returning for a fifth year probably would have been remote.

He started 29 of a possible 37 games during his final three seasons. After a knee sprain sidelined him for two games during a 2007 season, he had postseason shoulder surgery.

"Not a major operation; they just cleaned out some particles," Groh said, "but he missed spring practice. So, that's two spring practices he missed and there were a lot of other [in-season] practices. That's why we think there's a lot of room for growth."

Monroe hardly missed a down this past season, although there was some Internet chatter over the winter that he might have some injury issues. Pro scouts were relatively confident that he was injury-free, but he faced questions nonetheless.

"One team just continuously pounded the question of, if I ever used drugs," Monroe said, "and that was kind of weird for me. They kind of knew about the town that I'm from [Plainfield, N.J.] and the things that go on in there."

Monroe has required little maintenance since his arrival at Virginia and made sure that he graduated before leaving for the NFL. While Groh has cautioned players about getting caught up in the hype surrounding the NFL Draft, there was no chance of that with Monroe.

"His response to this is very similar to the way he was in recruiting," Groh said. "All the brightest lights were recruiting him -- USC, Ohio State, Texas, wherever -- and that didn't make any difference to him. His whole thought process was about his relationships with the people, where they were going to take the best care of him and what the best plan was.

"He was the same way here. The fellow he hired to be his agent is a young guy, a start-up guy [Sunny Shah] and not one of the name agents. Eugene wasn't going to be wowed by all of that. He was going to make his own decision."

When asked how high he might be drafted, Monroe responded last month, "one." It was unclear whether he thought he would go to the Detroit Lions, who own the first pick, or whether he was just speaking in hypothetical terms.

Don't expect Monroe to drop below the top 10 and he could go as high as No. 2, which is where he was projected in Friday's edition of USA Today. If he goes either second or third, he would be rejoining a former Cavalier teammate, Chris Long in St. Louis or Branden Albert in Kansas City.

Chances are, Monroe will become the fifth first-round pick from Virginia since 2005, including fellow offensive linemen Ferguson and Albert. Offensive tackle Jason Smith from Baylor, rated ahead of Monroe in some mock drafts, is considered a better blocker. Monroe is seen as a superior pass blocker.

"That's what the word is," Groh said, "and that's the single most important factor. If a guy misses a block on a running play, now it's second-and-10. If he misses a block on a pass play, the quarterback gets hit in the back, maybe he fumbles the ball [or] maybe he's out for the season."

"He and Brick were very similar. That was the strong suit of Brick's game."

Groh has a collection of NFL contacts but doesn't profess to have any inside information.

"Players want to know where they're going to play," he said, "but I caution them against getting overly excited or discouraged unnecessarily. The only information that's out there is dis-information. Almost more sacred to teams than their playbook is their draft board.

"The last time I talked to 'Gene, his attitude was, 'How can it not work out?' Whether he's [pick No.] 2, 3, 4, 6, he's looking at long-term remuneration over a significant time span."