NFL Draft Day arrives
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
One would think after the NFL success of players like former Howard safety Antoine Bethea, former Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair and former Savannah State receiver Shannon Sharpe, that NFL brass would pay attention when a black college prospect is a three-time black college all-American.
FIRST DAY (Rounds 1-3) |
That apparently was not the case last year when Bethea, the latest to accomplish the feat, was taken as a late (sixth round) pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 NFL Draft. All Bethea did was earn a starting berth early in the season as a rookie and eventually become an integral part of a defense that helped propel the Colts to their first Super Bowl title since they moved to Indianapolis.
Indications are this year that they're paying more attention especially if you consider the way Hampton linebacker Justin Durant has rocketed up Draft boards. We'll find out Saturday and Sunday (April 28-29) when the league holds its 72nd annual draft in New York at Radio City Music Hall. First thru third selections begin at 12 noon Saturday with fourth thru seventh round selections beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday. There will be 255 total selections. ESPN/ESPN2 and the NFL Network will televise the proceedings.
Durant, a 6-1, 230-pound tackling machine, is the black college poster boy for this year's draft. He won the MEAC defensive player of the year award an unprecedented three straight years (2004, '05 & '06) in addition to his black college all-American selections.
Once considered a late round pick at best, his workouts during the East-West Shrine Game, at the NFL Combine and on-campus at Hampton have all but made him a sure first-day pick. The scouts love his combination of quickness and speed (4.51 in the 40), strength (25 lifts of 250 pounds), intelligence and production (355 tackles in his career). It's even enough, most say, to overcome his playing at a non-Div. I program.
Durant's story and rise up the charts is all over the media, especially the internet, as is the story of the four Hampton teammates that were invited along with him to the Combine. The five Hampton players at the Combine is thought to be a record and first for a NCAA Championship (formerly I-AA) school.
Of his teammates, MEAC career rushing leader, RB Alonzo Coleman and defensive back Travarous Bain are most likely to be picked on the second day. The others likely to go off on the second day are Lane wide receiver Jacoby Jones and Alabama State defensive back Michael Coe.
Only three black college players went off the boards in last year's Draft former Alabama State quarterback Tarvaris Jackson to Minnesota in the second round, former Grambling defensive lineman Jason Hatcher to Dallas in the third round, and Bethea. The number was the second lowest for black college players in Draft history.
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