Unless they trade out of the first round, the Panthers will make someone’s dream come true Thursday night. It will likely be a guy who’s been groomed for the moment, long tagged with NFL potential. Whoever he is, he’ll be in Charlotte next Friday for a two-day minicamp that includes rookies, select veterans and tryout players.

Linebacker Alex Means is in latter group, someone who’s taken a much different path than any first-round pick.

Means graduated from the Air Force Academy last May and he’s about to begin the second year of his deployment. Currently he’s “deployed” with the Falcons’ football team. Between his duties as a graduate assistant, he’s been working out, hoping for the moment that came a week and a half ago when the Panthers called.

“I got a phone call from (my agent) and he asked me if I was sitting down. I said ‘no, but give me a second.’ He told me the news and I dropped the phone,” Means told Black and Blue Review Thursday night. “It was a dream come true. I was honored, humbled and blessed. I couldn’t believe it.”

When he travels to Carolina next week, Means will be using use his first days of leave this year. He’s been saving them all up in case a team gave him a shot.

The Panthers have had their eyes on Means for a few years. Actually, they were the first NFL team to show any interest at all, sending a scout to a practice his senior season.

“I remember seeing his hat. I remember seeing his jacket. One of the guys came up to me while I was stretching and said, ‘This Panthers guy is here to see you.’ I was like that’s pretty cool,” Means said. “It took me by surprise. And as the season went on, it became more of a reality that I may have a shot at this.”

That was in 2011. This March, Means again impressed Panthers representatives at the Super Regional Combine outside Seattle. At 6-5, 240, he put down impressive numbers: 4.75 and 4.76 seconds in the 40-yard dash; a 32½-inch vertical leap; and a 10-foot, 1-inch board jump. 

And here’s where the story gets even more interesting. Even if he impresses next week, even if the Panthers feel he has a future, Means won’t be able to play in the NFL until 2015 at the earliest. He has to fulfill at least two years of his commitment, and after that, he has to hope the Air Force will let him out of the rest of his time early.

Air Force grads like former Green Bay linebacker Chris Gizzi have received exceptions previously, but it’s no sure thing. So Means will come to Charlotte with nothing guaranteed except for an opportunity to continue pursuing his dream.

“I want to go in and show this is a kid who was over looked. This is a kid with big size who can move. This is a kid who wants it more than anybody else around him,” Means said. “I hope they see my passion for the game, how much I love it, and how bad I want it.”

If they keep all their picks, the Panthers will add at least seven players to their roster by Saturday night. Means was never in conversations to be drafted, but for two days at least, he’ll be on the same and an equal playing field.

“Absolutely,” Means said, when asked if he would be watching the draft Thursday night. “I have to see who my teammates are going to be.”