EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — How do you become an N.F.L. draft pick?

Consider the path taken by Michael Cox, a running back drafted by the Giants in the seventh round this year.

First, he was a nationally known junior hockey star from the Dorchester section of Boston. But when he tried out for his high school football team as a sophomore, they gave him a uniform and then never played him.

Next, he all but gave up elite hockey because he wanted to try other sports. Almost by accident, he ended up at a Connecticut prep school where, even though he had never played a down of organized football, he blossomed into a top rusher. Considered a top football prospect, he chose Michigan among several big-time suitors. For the second time in his athletic career, he was oddly banished to the bench, averaging about six carries a year.

After three seasons, he graduated early from Michigan and was granted a special dispensation to use his final year of N.C.A.A. eligibility at Massachusetts, which last year happened to field one of the worst teams in major college football. UMass was 1-11 and lost six games by more than 35 points.