Dwayne Jarrett stood in the shadows of Giants Stadium last week on a breezy, overcast, 50-degree day -- not at all the weather he has become accustomed to during the three years he has spent at Southern California.

He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and his hands were firmly tucked into his pockets.

"It's not usually this cold in April," the 6-5, 210-pound New Brunswick native said. "... I'm headed to L.A. and looking forward to that nice weather."

The Jersey boy has become a California kid, but it hasn't been all sunshine of late for Dwayne Jarrett -- especially if you believe the constant analysis of who's rising and falling in the days leading up to the NFL draft.

According to the experts, Dwayne Jarrett -- USC's all-time leading receiver -- has seen his stock drop after running a pair of 40-yard dashes in about 4.6 seconds last month in front of pro scouts. Although he was considered a first-round lock in the days after he dominated Michigan in the Rose Bowl and then declared for the draft, Dwayne Jarrett could go somewhere between the late-first and early-second round.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. -- the dean of the draft analysts -- ranks Dwayne Jarrett as the fifth-best receiver. Even more discouraging is that NFL Network's Mike Mayock has Dwayne Jarrett listed as 46th on his board of draft-eligible players -- and not even in his top five receivers.

"I don't think Dwayne Jarrett has the skills today to get off the line of scrimmage against quality NFL corners," Mayock said recently. "(But) he's a great athlete, he runs better than Mike Williams, he changes direction better than Mike Williams, he's nowhere near as stiff through the hips as Mike Williams."

There's part of the problem for Dwayne Jarrett: The comparisons to Williams, whose stellar career at USC hasn't translated to the NFL (37 receptions for 449 yards and only two touchdowns in two seasons with the Lions). Almost every time Kiper mentions Dwayne Jarrett, he refers to Williams and says that's the way NFL teams are viewing him.

"That's totally ridiculous," Dwayne Jarrett said. "... You can't say just because his career hasn't been successful, mine won't be either."

As for his slow 40, Dwayne Jarrett points to Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, who ran somewhere in the 4.7-second range before the draft. All he's done is rack up 342 receptions, 20 touchdowns, an offensive rookie of the year award and a trip to the Pro Bowl in four seasons with the Cardinals.

I never said I was the fastest or was going to run a 4.2 or 4.3," Dwayne Jarrett said. "I ran a 4.59 and 4.62. I'm happy with it. All the coaches I've talked to are definitely happy with it. I'm on film. You see me, I show up to play. That's me.

"Forget the 40-yard dash. You don't play football in a straight line over 40 yards."

Dwayne Jarrett's production never has been questioned. He racked up 43 total touchdowns his final two seasons at New Brunswick High and headed to Southern Cal.

Despite an early bout with homesickness, he set a Pac-10 record with 41 touchdown receptions in three seasons, shining in the Trojans' most important games. Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush get credit for a dramatic victory on the road against Notre Dame in 2005, but Dwayne Jarrett's 61-yard reception on fourth down set up the final score. And in the Rose Bowl against Michigan this past January, he had 11 catches for 205 yards. It should be noted he beat Wolverines cornerback Leon Hall -- he of the 4.3-second speed in the 40 and a likely first-round draft pick -- for a 62-yard touchdown.

Just days after what arguably was the best performance of the bowl season -- Dwayne Jarrett said he was well aware the highly-touted Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech had posted nine catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns earlier on New Year's Day -- Dwayne Jarrett decided to enter the NFL draft, in part because he "wasn't the most fortunate kid growing up."

Dwayne Jarrett's NFL dreams began when he was five years old. His uncle, Dave Jarrett, would come home from football practice and toss his helmet -- about 10 sizes too big, of course -- to his nephew.

Dwayne spent plenty of days at the Franklin home of Dave's parents. When Dave's father returned home from work at a paper-cup factory, he often brought home a few sleeves of cups. Dwayne would grab one, sneak away into a room, shut the door, toss the cup in the air and catch it over and over.

"I see how that paper cup has turned into a pigskin," said Dave Jarrett, who has accompanied Dwayne on each of his recent visits with NFL teams.

Dave can take some credit for that because he would stand a few feet away from Dwayne and fire passes at his face. It was either catch them or eat them. Most of the time he caught them.

Dave also would bring his 9-year-old nephew with him for street football games against boys as much as eight years older than Dwayne.

"He'd make a play and I'd say, 'Okay, I'll bring you again next week,'" Dave recalled. "You just had to put it up and he would run and catch it."

That kid has grown into a man -- one whose long frame barely fit into the front passenger seat of a sedan as he traveled from the Meadowlands to Newark Airport for that much-anticipated flight into the California sunshine. His knees were a dangerous one inch from the airbag, which means his supposedly sliding draft stock was hinging on the driver's ability to steer clear of the rumbling dump trucks on the Turnpike.

After three years spent more than 3,000 miles away from New Jersey, Dwayne Jarrett is days away from reaching the dream that was molded by his days growing up as a Giants fan.

And he's convinced he will make it.

"I'm going in with a chip on my shoulder," he said. "I've had success at every level, from high school to college and now heading into the NFL I'm looking for that same success.

"It might take a while, but I'm going to get there."

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