HURRY UP AND WAIT FOR KENELEY.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

When you're the other USC defensive tackle, waiting for your name to be called in the NFL draft allows plenty of time to think.

Which is OK with Matt Keneley. Thinking is something he does very well.

This weekend, he's thinking what a strange way this is to choose a new hometown, to find out where he'll rear his kids, to find out where he'll use the $38,000 in postgraduate scholarships that are waiting for him when real life beckons again.

He's thinking about the odd gauntlet of physical, mental and psychological tests he has run through since completing his Trojans career with eight tackles in the overtime victory over Notre Dame at the Coliseum in November.

He's thinking he's entering a funny world, pro football, when his agent advises him not to score too high on the NFL intelligence test because, after all, teams are looking for a defensive tackle and not, pardon the expression, a brain surgeon.

``You think about all the time and the dedication and the practices that have got you to this point, and for it all to be out of your hands, it's unlike any other career,'' Keneley, 23, said as he awaited the draft at his family's home in Laguna Hills.

``If you're at USC Medical School, you can decide where you want to pass your medical boards,'' said the Academic All-American who doesn't plan to be a doctor but is interested in sports law and management. ``This, you have no control. Your fate is determined in one of 30 NFL war rooms on a weekend in April.''

The USC defensive tackle everybody was talking about, Darrell Russell, saw the future a matter of minutes into the first round of the draft on Saturday. The 6-foot-4-1/2, 321-pounder, an academic star in his own right, went to the Oakland Raiders with the second pick.

The 6-foot-4-1/2, 286-pound guy from the other side of the line and the other end of the draft rankings must wait until today. Keneley was projected as a mid- to late-round pick. The draft resumes with round four this morning at 8 a.m. Keneley will be in front of the TV.

``Wherever I'm picked, wherever I go, I know I have the ability to make the club,'' he said.

Keneley earned a spot in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. He made four tackles. More important, he thinks he practiced well, with 400 NFL front-office types watching.

Two weeks later, Keneley and hundreds of other draft hopefuls were in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine.

He did well but not too well on the famous Wonderlich intelligence test. Forced to answer 50 questions in 12 minutes, he scored in the mid-30s.

Run, throw and Catch-22.

He wasn't done. Individual teams ran him through workouts, interviews and written tests. One team, he recalls, had a 364-question exam.

And there was another chance to show his physical talents one day in March, when pro scouts came to Los Angeles to look over the USC prospects. Keneley improved on some of his scores from the combine. His 40-yard time, 5.31 seconds, and his reps in the 225-pound bench press, 18, were on the edge of the top dozen scores among defensive-tackle candidates.

His agent checked around and the most optimistic guesses had Keneley drafted in the third round. But Saturday the third round came and went. Five defensive tackles have already been taken.

``At this time, I'm a type of player the NFL needs,'' he said.

While he waits to find out he watches and learns about the weird world of the draft. Some year, in an NFL war room on a weekend in April, Matt Keneley might be one of the generals.

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Photo: MATT KENELEY: USC defensive tackle rides roller coaster of first three rounds.