Talk about culture shock.

Kellen Clemens is leaving his family's cattle ranch in Burns and is headed to New York City for the first time to begin rookie camp for the New York Jets.

The former Oregon quarterback was selected in the second round of Saturday's NFL draft by the Jets. He was No. 49 overall.

Clemens expects to stay in the Big Apple for summer workouts until July and his wife Nicole, will join him next month.

1 - D'Brickashaw Ferguson, T, Virginia (6-6, 305); 1 - Nick Mangold, C, Ohio State (6-4, 300); 2 - Kellen Clemens, QB, Oregon (6-2, 219); 3 - Anthony Schlegel, ILB, Ohio State (6-0, 250); 3 - Eric Smith, SS, Michigan State (6-1, 209); 4 - Brad Smith, WR, Missouri (6-2, 213); 4 - Leon Washington, RB, Florida State (5-8, 201); 5 - Jason Pociask, TE, Wisconsin (6-3, 266); 6 - Drew Coleman, CB, Texas Christian (5-9, 173); 7 - Titus Adams, DT, Nebraska (6-3, 306)

The New York Jets signed a three-year television deal with SportsNet New York.

The network, which starts broadcasting next April, will air more than 230 hours of Jets-related content, including in-season and offseason programming with access to players, coaches and management. It also will work with the Jets on joint marketing programs.

Team president L. Jay Cross called it a "groundbreaking agreement" for Jets fans to finally have a television home. SportsNet New York, also home to the New York Mets, reaches eight million people in the tri-state area.

"Jets fans are underserved," SNY president Jon Litner said. "Every day is gameday. There's a lot that goes on 12 months of the year because of the way the NFL is structured; hope springs eternal every spring. We believe we have a tremendous opportunity to fill a demand Jets fans have."

In time Jets fans, you're going to get to know Eric Mangini and you're going to like him.

He just has to come out of the darkness of his office and the meeting rooms - places where he's been sequestered nearly 24-7 since being hired some two months ago to fix the latest Jets' mess - and you'll see him, hear him, recognize him and respect him.

Last night, in the first extensive one-on-one interview he's granted since he was hired, Mangini made a pledge to Jets fans in an exclusive sit-down with The Post over a couple of beers at the swank Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.

"Jets fans are going to see that we're going to work as hard as anybody else in the NFL and that commitment to improving the team is not going to stop," Mangini vowed. "It's not going to take holidays, it's not going to have weekends off. That's what they can expect - that they know we are working as hard as humanly possible to improve this team.

"It's going to be done in such a way that's methodical, well-thought-out and unemotional in a sense that the decisions we make are going to be the best decisions for the organization. There's a very strong commitment to that - doing whatever it takes and taking as long as it takes to get that done."

To be honest, the 35-year-old Mangini, with his cherubic face and youthful vibe, looks more like one of the bellhops here than he does an NFL head coach.

A few weeks ago, at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Mangini realized just how under the radar he's been when he encountered an exuberant Jets fan in a hotel.

"Mike Tannenbaum (the Jets' GM) and I were going up the escalator - we'd been working pretty hard and hadn't been out in public very much - and somebody comes running up the escalator and has two Jets helmets and says, 'Hey fellas, I heard the head coach of the Jets is up here. Have you seen him?' " Mangini said. "We had to explain he was actually right there. I didn't want to disappoint a Jets fan. He was very apologetic and polite."

Mangini signed the fan's helmet and pressed on to his next meeting.

In another incident that portrayed his anonymity, Mangini and his wife, Julie, recently tried to bring their two young kids to lunch.

"We were trying to get into a restaurant that was filled with Jets paraphernalia and signs," he recalled.

"We walked in with the two kids and said we'd like to come in for lunch and the guy was like, 'Sorry buddy. It's a private party.' "

Mangini knows that his low profile will be short-lived, because he knows the passion of the Jets fans. Having coached here as an assistant and coached against the Jets, he knows what the people want and he sounds hell-bent on delivering the goods.

"That's what makes them great," Mangini said. "Jets fans are beautiful. How can you not love the Jets fans? I came here so many times as a Patriot and when you hear that swelling of emotions with that 'J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets' chant, you can't ignore that as an opponent. It's unique. I respect the passion.

"When I first went to New England I hated coming back. You could feel that chant coming on. It was like when you're sitting on the beach and see the wave coming and know you're going to get hit by it, that's the feeling of that cheer starting to come up. I've been to a lot of stadiums and that's a unique wave of emotion."

Mangini can't wait to hear that chant ringing through his ears as the Jets head coach.

I once asked Nomar Garciaparra if it was true that New York fans were the smartest. He replied, "I think so." When I pressed him as to why, he responded, "It's the only place I have ever played where 50,000 people yell 'BALK!' at the same time." I told him that I wasn't even sure what an actual BALK was and he said, "Maybe they don't either, but they all don't know it at the same time."