West Babylon's Jevon Belcher signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a freeagent in April. (Courtesy University of Maine) Jevon Belcher doesn't expect much.

He didn't get many calls from college recruiters, so he went to the University of Maine as a last resort.

Thenhe wasn't spoken about in any NFLDraft talks, but had two solid pro days at Maine and Hofstra and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free-agent.

Now Belcher, a 6-foot-2 defensive end from West Babylon, will try and make the Chiefs' final roster and become the most recent Long Island native to play in the NFL.

He's also only the third West Babylon graduate to be associated with an NFL team, joining Len Sears, who won the first Hansen Award in 1960 and played briefly with the Houston Oilers of the AFL, and Gavin Myles, Belcher's uncle, who graduated in 1989 and had a tryout with the Miami Dolphins, according to West Babylon head football coach Al Ritacco.

"I didn't expect anything," said Belcher, who reported for mini-camp on May 7. "I didn't put all my eggs in one basket and am grateful for the opportunity to prolong my football career."

After taking calls from the Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams, Belcher, who is projected as a linebacker in the NFL, decided to sign with the Chiefs "because it's a better fit."

Belcher admits his early gridiron days at West Babylon provided him the necessary fundamentals he used at Maine, which eventually led to Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.

"Coach Ritacco always wanted me to have a motor," he said.

Ritacco knew him during all four years of his high school career, both as a coach and as his biology teacher for one year. "He's an outstanding individual," Ritacco said. "When h e sp oke, people listened. He could hit like a truck and lead by example." A key ingredient

to West Babylon's undefeated regular season in 2004, Belcher, who was All-League, All-County and Second Team All-Long Island his senior year, requested to play special teams just so he could size up the field and attack at will.

"He was like a buzz saw going down the field," Ritacco recalls.

That's exactly what he developed, the ability to hustle all game, churning out tackles and causing havoc from start to finish.

"I never stop," Belcher said. "I'm always around the ball and let loose when I'm on the field."

Belcher went as far as saying he doesn't care if he gets hurt as long as the job gets done.

During his junior year of college Belcher felt he could play in the NFL. He started breaking down film and studying his opponents in an efficient manner and now his childhood dream is a reality.

East Meadow's Rich Ohrnberger (Penn State), who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round and St. Anthony's Alex Fletcher (Stanford), who signed with the New Orleans Saints, accompany Belcher as the only other Long Island natives to join NFL teams upon the completion of Draft weekend in late April.