WAYNE — The taskmaster is at the far end of the gym, a stopwatch clenched in one hand. The pupils are gathered 40 yards away, pacing behind the starting line. The young men in shorts and sprinting spikes bounce from foot to foot. The cool air of the cavernous building is thick with anticipation.

Game time, the taskmaster announces, his black sweats in stark contrast to the gleam of his shaved head.

Full 40? asks one.

The full 40, he is told.

With that, the player is ready to run. He peels away a pair of mesh shorts and the compression pair underneath reveal a set of quad muscles akin to a mountain ridge. He scans across his fellow NFL hopefuls, saying to no one in particular, Are you nervous? I'm nervous right now.

This isn't even the real thing.

But for Brian Cushing, the Park Ridge native who used four years of football at Bergen Catholic High School and four more at Southern California to turn himself into one of the most coveted linebackers in the upcoming NFL draft, everything is real.

Everything matters.

Everything counts.

Now 22 years old, this is the only approach he knows.

Cushing steps into the imaginary starting block. He sets one hand on the turf and cocks the other behind him. He holds his position for at least a full second.

And then he flies.

The 40-yard dash is perhaps the most attention-grabbing event of the NFL combine, the upcoming annual week of testing that pits athletes against the clock, the tape measure and the scale. Cushing plans to be ready. He propels his 6-foot-3, 245-pound body forward, out to prove he is the best. Trainer Joe DeFranco, who's been pushing the group hard for more than an hour, already has promised that if they beat their best 40, their day is done.

What separates Brian is the very rare combination of being genetically gifted and an insane work ethic and drive. That's when you get what could be the best in the world, says DeFranco, the Wyckoff-based personal trainer who has worked with Cushing since high school. DeFranco specializes in preparing for the combine. Cushing is part of a group that recently worked out at a Wayne gym.

The thing about him is that he's still out to prove himself, DeFranco says. He's never satisfied.

Which is why the NFL combine is the perfect place for him. The measurable analysis of a player's speed, strength, agility and jumping ability does not intimidate Cushing, whose current six-day-a-week regimen of workouts and daily 4,000- to 5,000-calorie rigid nutritional intake is designed for Saturday, the day linebackers will work out in Indianapolis. The draft will be held April 25-26.

I feel I'm about to peak, Cushing says after the workout, his Bergen Catholic T-shirt and red USC sweat pants now matched with a winter jacket. I'm looking forward to going there and performing.

On this day, Cushing is primarily practicing his 40, but that doesn't mean the workload is easy. DeFranco puts him through many rigorous exercises, including one in which he sprints while pushing what's called a prowler, a low, heavy, metal sled. Mondays are reserved for upper-body strength day, Tuesdays for running, Wednesdays for active recovery, Thursdays for running, Fridays for upper body and Saturdays for running. Cushing follows a strict meal plan prepared and delivered daily by a nutritionist, and paid for by his agent, Tom Condon.

On the field, Brian is as fierce a competitor as I've ever coached, says longtime Bergen Catholic coach Fred Stengel, whose seven previous NFL players include former Giant Jim Finn. In 40 years, for pure intensity and desire to win, he ranks in the top one percent of anybody I've had.

Statistically, Cushing was among the nation's best players at one of the nation's best programs. In 13 games for the Trojans (including a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State), Cushing had 73 tackles, 10 1/2 for a loss, and three sacks. Although earlier seasons were interrupted by various injuries, his consistency as a senior, along with that of teammates Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews, helped USC boast of the best linebacker corps in the country. All three are projected as first-round picks.

NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock sees Cushing going somewhere from 10 to 20, and pegs him as a great fit for a 4-3 team. I think outside linebacker is the deepest position in the draft, and after [Aaron] Curry from Wake Forest, who is a top 5 pick, I think Cushing could be the next outside linebacker taken.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper rates Cushing slightly lower. I see a 20s range for Cushing. Right now I have him going No. 23 to New England, Kiper said. He could be in the discussion a little earlier, but that doesn't mean he'll be picked.

The combine is the next opportunity to prove he should be.

Brian is never afraid of a test; his attitude is, 'I'll show what I can do,' Stengel says. He's going to blow up the combine.

DeFranco has seen it happen. Every year there is some legendary combine performance, like Deion Sanders running a 4.2 40 with his shoe untied, he says. Cush could be the combine freak this year.

Cushing's first few strides out of the gate are perfect. He is low and streamlined. As his body uncoils, he gains momentum, the bandana tied around his long, dark hair flapping at his neck. He sprints past the finish, stopping only when he meets the far wall.

He turns back to DeFranco.

"4.48"

Oohs and aahs fill the air. For a linebacker, Cushing is fast. Very fast. First-round fast.

Where did that come from? one of the other athletes asks. It's the tights, says another.

Cushing makes his way back to the start, thrilled with a personal best.

I didn't know I had that in me today, he says. At all, actually.

The remaining six athletes continue to take turns running. Cushing is the only one to get the personal best, so he sits and watches. Then he lines up again, and although his 4.56 doesn't match his first run, his effort does.

It's the only approach he knows.