I caught up with former Ohio State middle linebacker James Laurinaitis last week as part of my draft preview package. He hasn't had much contact with the Lions throughout this whole process – just an interview at the combine and coach Jim Schwartz attended his pro day – but that doesn't mean they're not interested.

“I was talking to my agent about it, Tom Condon” – who also happens to represent Matt Stafford – “and he said, 'James, a lot of these teams already know your story. It's not like you're a secret to a lot of these teams. So they already know kind of what they're getting off the field with you,'” Laurinaitis said.

In fact, teams are limited to bringing 30 prospects in for visits, and many of those trips are used on players who need updated physicals and don't have quite the body of work of Laurinaitis, a three-year starter at Ohio State who hasn't missed a game or practice since fourth grade.

Laurinaitis said he worked out privately for St. Louis, Atlanta, Denver and Miami, and took visits to Kansas City, Houston and New Orleans.

“You're kind of wondering, are these teams interested in me or are these teams just trying to play the chess match to make their competitor think they're interested in me?” Laurinaitis said. “It's all a big poker game kind of. You don't want to put too many chips on one team because you never know who's going to take you.”

I don't know where Laurinaitis stands on the Lions' draft board. He's widely considered the No. 2 middle linebacker in the draft behind USC's Rey Maualuga, less dynamic but maybe a more complete player. The Lions, of course, also view Wake Forest's Aaron Curry as a middle backer, and Curry is the best defensive player in the draft.

I do know Laurinaitis is an interesting guy who would start from Day 1 with the Lions. His father was the professional wrestler “the Animal,” his uncle is still in the wrestling business, and he won the Nagurski Award as a sophomore and followed up with two productive years while playing under scouts' microscopes. He also said all the right things about playing in Detroit.

“It'd be like the next ghost of (Chris) Spielman coming in there, another Buckeye linebacker,” Laurinaitis said. “It'd be fun, it'd be an experience. To me, no matter what team picks me it's going to be a dream come true when that phone rings. You get to play in the NFL, you got to look at it that way. You can't say this or that, and if I went to Detroit, it's still a dream come true and hopefully be a part of some young players and some guys to turn it around up there because it's a great football town and they love their football and they want to see the Lions succeed.”

Update: Forgot to add, I got a tweet from Western Illinois linebacker Jason Williams saying he hasn't had any contact with the Lions. He's an outside backer so it's no great surprise. Figured I'd share nonetheless.

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I got my college football Hall-of-Fame ballot in the mail the other day, and I counted nine former Lions and a few other interesting names among the candidates.

All told there are 76 Division I-A nominees for which voters are supposed to pick 11. Some of the selections seem obvious. Brian Bosworth was a two-time consensus All-American linebacker at Oklahoma. Deion Sanders, another two-time All-American, is the best cornerback of all time. Tim Brown won the 1987 Heisman and Russell Maryland (1990) and Jonathan Ogden (1995) were Outland winners.

I'm not going to list all 76 candidates (plus 36 I-AA candidates and 61 in other divisions; check collegefootball.org if you're interested), but I'm curious which ex-Lions you think deserve consideration. The list:

LB Chris Spielman, Ohio State: 1987 Lombardi winner and two-time first-team All-American; one of the all-time great Lions.

WR Desmond Howard, Michigan: 1991 Heisman winner; played four seasons in Detroit from 1999-2002.

RB D.J. Dozier, Penn State: Led Nittany Lions in rushing four times, including during national-title year of 1986; played six games with the Lions in '91.

DL Luther Elliss, Utah: 1994 WAC Defensive Player of the Year; drafted 20th overall by the Lions.

RB Dick Jauron, Yale: School's all-time rushing leader; was drafted as a defensive back by the Lions and served as interim coach in 2005;

FB Tom Nowatzke, Indiana: 1963 Big Ten rushing leader; Scored 16 touchdowns over five seasons with the Lions in the '60s.

DE Pat Swilling, Georgia Tech: Set the NCAA record with seven sacks in one game; part of perhaps the worst trade in Lions history.

Two ex-Lions on the Division II ballot are Don Greco, who played guard at Western Illinois and for the Lions from 1982-85, and Northern Michigan defensive back Jerry Woods, who played briefly with the Lions two decades ago.

A couple other names of note: Darryl Rogers, 18-40 in four seasons as Lions coach, is a candidate to be inducted into the coach's win; Kirk Gibson and Percy Snow are on the ballot from MSU; as is former Cal linebacker Ron Rivera, who interviewed for the Lions' job in January.