Sebastian Janikowski has always been at bit of a mercenary, from the time he starred for the Polish under-17 soccer team as a brash kid earning free meals for him and his mother to the day he switched high schools after his junior year because the new one had superior athletic facilities.

Flash a dollar bill -- or, better yet, a pitcher of beer or a pint of vodka -- in front of his nose, and you command the immediate attention of the former Florida State kicker. You also earn his undying loyalty.

"The way I see it," said Janikowski during the predraft combine workout two months ago, "I've probably had too many beers and not enough money over the years. But I have a good hunch that situation will take care of itself once I'm drafted, huh?"

That, indeed, figures to be the case for the colorful Janikowski.

Arguably the most celebrated kicker to come out of the college game in the past 20 years, he will probably be selected in the second round. The team that drafts him will reward Janikowski with a signing bonus of between $950,000-$1 million. It also suggests he will invest part of that haul to purchase some sort of gutmaster exercise machine.

When you are stepping out on a limb few teams have navigated in the draft, you don't want it falling off because of the fat boy shinnying out there with you. And there's no denying the good-time-all-the-time Janikowski is a cholesterol expert's dream client. He chuckled about how the Seminoles sports information department would always fudge particulars of physical dimensions too incongruous even for a kicker, listing him an inch taller than his true height (6-feet-0 7/8) and 10 pounds shy of his real weight (260 pounds).

There aren't too many kickers who are ever in optimum shape, for sure, but none have ever been the shape of Janikowski, either. There is a certain irony to the fact he will earn a handsome living kicking a football since, if you painted seams on his torso, he would look like one.

Such is the profile, though, of a player who didn't come to the United States until six years ago, didn't begin playing football until his senior year of high school and seems to spend much of his time trying to make up for everything he has missed. At the combine, he tried to sneak past two reporters who were camped out in the hotel lobby at midnight trying to locate a head coach, and then when caught, invited them out for a beer.

On the way out the door, he paused to ask the concierge if there were any pool halls nearby where he might shoot a few games of nine ball, and perhaps win a few bucks. Rumor has it he had to be phoned five times by the desk the next morning, calling to awaken him for some physical testing that is part of the combine procedure. The last part, one of the other kickers invited to the workouts insisted, wasn't true but rather fabricated by Janikowski to enhance his image as the ultimate kicking maverick.

Through the years, place-kickers have been collectively regarded as having a screw loose. But it seems Janikowski is simply loose all over.

Then again, when the game is tight, his powerful left leg is the one you want on your side. In any era, he would be a valuable commodity. But at a time when more than half the games in the league are decided by three points or less, he is an even hotter commodity.

"You can pick any of the other rookies in this draft and, out of the whole bunch, I'll bet this guy makes a bigger impact as a rookie than anyone," said former New Orleans special teams coach Bobby April. "He's going to win two or three games every year probably for the team that gets him. The guy is a weapon, no doubt about it, a man who will decide the outcome of games. He is one of the best (kickers) I've ever seen and has maybe the strongest leg ever."

Sebastian Janikowski hopes to use part of his signing bonus to bring his mother to the U.S. from Poland.(Allsport)

Fact is, until starting defensive ends Grant Wistrom and Kevin Carter both underwent surgeries this offseason, there seemed to be a pretty good chance the St. Louis Rams would exercise the final pick in the first round to grab Janikowski. The uncertainty of the ends and the loss of two starting offensive linemen in free agency probably dictates the Rams address those needs first now. But even if he is chosen in the second round, Janikowski will be in elite company.

Since 1967, the only two kickers selected in the first round were Steve Little (by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978) and Russell Erxleben (New Orleans, 1979). Barring a monumental upset, Janikowski will become the fifth kicker or punter in the modern era taken in the second round, joining punter Rohn Stark (Baltimore Colts, 1982), kicker Chip Lohmiller (Washington, 1988), kicker Jason Hanson (Detroit, 1992) and punter Todd Sauerbrun (Chicago, 1995).

His loquacious manner at the combine notwithstanding, Janikowski definitely had some serious moments there. The first came in his workout for scouts, when he nailed 17 of 20 field goal tries, his accuracy and leg strength seemingly improving with the longer kicks. But his kickoffs, which normally sail through the end zone, all landed at about the goal line. A few hours later, he mumbled about the shorter tee the league mandates for kickoffs but acknowledged it will be a challenge for him to maintain his incredible average of 50 percent unreturnable kickoffs.

"Maybe I need to eat a bigger meal before every game for strength," he said, laughing. "As if that might be possible."

On a more serious note, he spoke of how he hopes to use part of his signing bonus to finally bring his mother, Halina, to this country. His parents separated when his dad, Henryk, an aging soccer standout, came to the United States to play for some semi-pro clubs in New York state. Four years later, with Sebastian having emigrated, the couple officially divorced. The memory of his mother is one of the few things that will sober Janikowski in a hurry.

"With all the good times I've had," he said, "to be (reunited) with her would be the best time of all. Once I sign a contract, it's the first thing I'm going to take care of."