A year ago at this time Patriots running back Antwoine Womack was recovering from knee surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee and didn't know if he would even be drafted. While he didn't necessarily believe that going undrafted would end his chances in the NFL, he is thankful that New England did draft him in the sixth round of last April's draft.

Now, after a year of rehabbing with the Patriots medical staff and absorbing everything he could from being around the NFL on a daily basis, Womack is at full health and ready to look forward on his career.

"I couldn't control whether I got drafted or not," Womack said following a workout while participating in the Patriots offseason program. "I just wanted an opportunity. And they gave me an opportunity so I have to take full advantage of it."

While there had been an outside chance Womack could have joined the Patriots active roster late last season, he simply wasn't ready to go physically. But now, the 5-11, 225-pound former Virginia Cavalier is prepared to battle for a roster spot.

"I am full go," Womack said with confidence. "I just have to take care of the little things. The ACL is high maintenance so you have to keep up on it. That's basically where I am. I'm just hungry and want to win. That's all I want to do, I just want to win and just try to be all I can be. This offseason I just want to try to work myself into the best condition possible and just give everything I can possibly give. That's all I want."

And while some fans may point to Womack as a possible positive addition to the New England backfield, the former All-Atlantic Coast Conference running back says he hasn't really been told what his role with the team might be.

"Basically what I am hearing is to just get into the best shape you can possibly be in by training camp," Womack said. "That's basically all I am hearing. I can't control everything else. The only thing I can do is just get into the weight room and just be all I can be in the weight room and in training camp just take the straps off and let it go."

For more on how Womack might fit into the Patriots mix check out the upcoming April issue of Patriots Football Weekly on newsstands next week.

Notes

Patriots wide receiver T.C. Taylor, currently allocated to the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe, was placed on the Dragons' injured reserve list earlier this week. … The Patriots Cheerleaders will be holding open auditions for the 2003 squad on Sunday, April 6, at the Gillette Stadium practice bubble in Foxborough, Mass. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the event should conclude by 6:00 p.m. Candidates must be at least 18 year of age by the date of the auditions to participate and the audition is not open to the public. For more information contact Tracy Sormanti, Patriots Cheerleaders Director, at (508) 384-9101.