MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2003
NFL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3B
Players picked later than expected
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The second day of the NFL draft provided the usual assortment of highly regarded players who had just enough questions about them to cause their status to fall.
One early pick yesterday was wounded in a drive-by shooting, and another is the undersized son of a former NFL star. A third player is a quarterback who runs as well as he throws, and a fourth is a running back coming off a serious knee injury.
There also was a baseball player, Drew Henson, who was chosen in the sixth round by the Houston Texans, adding to the team's collection of young quarterbacks that also includes David Carr, the No. 1 overall pick last year, and Dave Ragone, chosen Saturday in the third round.
And finally, there is Ken Dorsey, who lost only two games in his career as Miami's quarterback but wasn't chosen until San Francisco drafted him 21 picks from the end. He did better than Heisman runner-up Brad Banks of Iowa and Jason Gesser of Washington State, two star QBs who weren't taken at all.
It started when Dennis Weath-
It started when Dennis Weathersby ,Dan Klecko, Seneca Wallace and Lee Suggs went quickly in the fourth round in the second day of the NFL draft instead of on the first
ersby (the wounded player), Dan Klecko (son of the NFL star), Seneca Wallace (the versatile QB) and Lee Suggs (knee) went quickly in the fourth round in the second day of the NFL draft instead of on the first.
So did other well-known college players like running backs Quentin Griffin of Oklahoma (undersized) and Onterrio Smith of Oregon (questionable durability), offensive tackle Brett Williams of Florida State (mobility), and Outland Trophy-winning defensive tackle Rien Long of Washington State (injuries and attitude).
All can take heart in the fact that players chosen lower have turned into stars: Zach Thomas was a fifth-rounder and Terrell Davis and Tom Brady went in the sixth. And Troy Brown and Jessie Armstead, both were chosen in 1993 in the eighth round, which no longer exists.
Weathersby was the first to go, taken by Cincinnati a week after a
bullet went through his torso and lodged in his arm. The cornerback from Oregon State wasn't hurt badly enough to affect his career, but the shooting raised questions among some teams about his character, and he dropped from the early rounds.
Klecko, son of former New York Jet Joe Klecko, was Big East defensive player of the year, even though he played for lowly Temple. But at a quarter-inch under 6 feet, he is considered too short. He was taken by Houston.
"To get a guy of his caliber at this round of the draft is a coup for us," said Leslie Frazier, Cincinnati's defensive coordinator.
"You've got to think that without that incident, he wouldn't have been on the board this morning. I think that had a lot to do with his fall to the fourth round. He had him as a second-rounder."
The surprise on Wallace, the Iowa State quarterback, is that he went to Seattle rather than Pittsburgh, which has selected players
of his type — Kordell Stewart, Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El. A scrambler under 6 feet tall, he has insisted he wants to remain at QB in the NFL.
Suggs, a star at Virginia Tech in 2000, injured his knee in 2001 and split time when he returned last season. He went to Cleveland.
The 5-7 Griffin was chosen by Denver, which has a history of succeeding with middle-and lowround running backs. Smith was taken by Minnesota, Williams by Kansas City and Long by Tennessee.
"This is an opportunity for him to start over," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of Long, who dropped in part because of questions about his attitude.
The Henson pick came in the sixth round. It had been expected; Henson is hitting under .200 at Triple-A Columbus after leaving Michigan and signing with the New York Yankees for seven figures.
At Michigan, he alternated with Brady, the MVP of the 2002 Super Bowl for New England.
"I am concentrating on baseball right now," he said through a spokesman for the Columbus Clippers.
Cowboys select Kansas State cornerback
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas The first draft pick of the Bill Parcells-Jerry Jones partnership lacked fireworks—no big trade, hardly even any debate.
Making what Jones called the safe choice, the Dallas Cowboys selected cornerback-returner Terence Newman from Kansas State with the fifth overall pick Saturday.
Newman's proven ability at cornerback, a position where the team needed help, plus his return skills overshadowed questions about nerve damage in his left shoulder and the fact he'll be 25 when the season begins, about two years older than the average first-rounder.
But the intrigue in this draft went beyond whom Dallas took. It was about how the new coach and his new boss got along in the first pressure-packed test of their business relationship.
Second-round pick Al Johnson, a center from Wisconsin, and third-rounder Jason Witten, a tight end from Tennessee, also were considered among the tops at their position, giving the Cowboys their second straight solid draft.
Jones said they were "very much on the same page." Parcells described himself as "just part of the process."
"As I've said from the beginning, this is a 'we' decision," Jones said after taking Newman. "Bill is very involved. He has
tremendous respect from me, and I really do listen to his input. He very much does influence the decisions that we make."
Parcells, speaking after all three picks were made, said, "I gave my opinion, just like everyone else. It had substantial weight, but it wasn't the entire reason anybody was taken."
The biggest indication of Parcells' influence was how Newman was treated - or rather not treated.
In past years, Jones has flown in top picks either on draft day or the day after. Jones joked he wasn't doing it with Newman because he was in New York, which was too expensive of a flight.
"We decided not to," Parcells said adding that he'd never done anything like that before and didn't want to start now.
"I like to bring them all in together," Parcells said. "I don't if care if he was drafted first or 300th. He's part of the team now."
Jones loves hyping his picks, and he didn't hesitate this time, comparing Newman's speed to Deion Sanders.
"He's got the skill and potential to impact our team immediately," Jones said. "We certainly feel like we're getting a player who gives us pretty good confidence he's going to be a significant contributor."
Parcells said such a comparison was "a little premature ... in fact, very premature."
Parcells' take: "This is a pretty
"We certainly feel like we're getting a player who gives us pretty good confidence he's going to be a significant contributor."
Jerry Jones Cowboys owner
gifted athlete, who hopefully at some point can make a pretty significant contribution here. I've learned a long time ago not to predict how anybody will fit in. You never really know exactly how a player is going to play until you get them."
The 5-foot-10, 189-pound Newman was an All-American last season, winning the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back. He intercepted five passes and deflected 14 despite teams often not throwing to his side of the field.
He's likely to unseat Mario Edwards and join Derek Ross as the starters at cornerback. Combined with safeties Roy Williams and Darren Woodson, the defensive backfield can now be considered one of the Cowboys' strengths.
Newman also can help the special teams as he returned three punts and one kickoff for touchdowns in four seasons at K-State. He even saw action at receiver.
Parcells said Newman had been drafted to play corner and maybe return punts. Parcells
made it clear that returning kicks in the NFL was much more difficult than in college, saying, "You have to have a certain mentality."
"Now, do I know whether Terence Newman has that mentality? No. But I do coach the punt returners myself. Always have. So we'll find out very quickly," Parcells said. "And I don't know whether we'll even use him if he could do it. We'll see what we have."
Although Newman was worried the cancellation meant they didn't want him, he's happy to play for a team he grew up watching.
Jones and Parcells never interviewed Newman, even canceling a get-together scheduled for last week under the premise they didn't think he'd last until No. 5.
His mom lives in the area and is a Cowboy fan.
"This fits me perfect," he said. "All I can do is come in and do my best to compete and help out any way I can."
Parcells said he was hoping the 6-foot-3, 305-pound Johnson could solidify a position that had "held me hostage," and he was looking for Witten to help fill a position that had been "an integral part of the offensive style that we try to run."
"Jason Witten is a big, fast guy who's shown the ability to catch the ball well and hopefully can block adequately enough to allow us to do some things," Parcells said, offering as much praise as he gave any of the picks.
Rams draft player after second round
The Associated Press
ST.LOUIS — Two Missouri players were drafted yesterday, the second day of the NFL draft, and one who wasn't may have the best chance to stick.
It's a lot better than the end of his Missouri career as the backup to freshman Brad Smith. Farmer threw for 13 touchdowns with six interceptions in 2001, but he was 5-for-11 for 65 yards with one touchdown and one interception last season.
St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz appeared as excited about quarterback Kirk Farmer, signed after the draft, as the eight players the team selected in the final four rounds of the draft. Farmer lost the starting job last year to freshman Brad Smith, throwing only 11 passes all season as the backup but impressed Rams offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild in a March workout.
"I think he's more than worthwhile, and I'm very excited about him," Martz said. "He isn't just a camp guy. Mechanically, I really like him a lot."
At the time, the Rams were looking at Missouri wide receiver Justin Gage, taken in the fifth round by Chicago.
"Not every team probably knows about me," Farmer said. "I'm just thankful they signed me."
Martz said Farmer, who had an injury-plagued career at Missouri with a broken leg in 1999 and a broken collarbone in 2000, had a solid chance to be the Rams' No. 3 quarterback. He would be battling with Scott Covington for that spot.
trate on football and turn his back on basketball paid off when the Bears took him. Gage caught 82 passes for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns his senior year and totaled 200 catches for 2,704 yards and 18 touchdowns overall.
Another Missouri player, defensive tackle Keith Wright, was taken by the Houston Texans on the last pick of the sixth round. Wright had 92 tackles last year, 24 for losses, and added six sacks.
Southeast Missouri wide receiver Willie Ponder was taken by the New York Giants in the sixth round. Ponder capitalized on a big year with the Division I-AA school, with 87 receptions for 1,453 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Gage was a valuable reserve as a junior for the Tigers' basketball team, which could have used him as a senior because it had no depth. But Gage was busy preparing for his football career, adding 12 pounds of muscle and working on his 40-yard dash times.
He also took a semester off school, leaving him 18 hours shy of a degree.
"I got the chance to focus on football," Gage said from his parents' home in Jefferson City. "That gave me the opportunity to work out full-time."
Gage was hoping to be picked on the first day, so he said it had been a difficult week for him. He was the 143rd overall pick of the draft.
"I'm just glad to be drafted, but I didn't know it would take so long," Gage said. "Time ticks by and rounds tick by and it gets nerve-racking."
The Bears attended two of Gage's workouts, so he knew they were interested.
The Associated Press
Chiefs pin hopes on final round draft picks
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs hoped they were lucky enough to find another Scott Fujita in the final rounds of the draft yesterday.
Fujita was the unheralded linebacker from California taken in the fifth round last year who quickly cracked the starting lineup and showed signs of star potential.
In the fourth and fifth rounds yesterday, the Chiefs took tackles Brett Williams, 6-foot-5, 321 pounds, of Florida State and Jordan Black, 6-5, 314, of Notre Dame.
Jimmy Wilkerson, an All-Big 12 defensive end from Oklahoma who started football as a high
With two picks in the seventh and final round, the Chiefs took defensive tackle Montique Sharpe, 6-2, 296, from Wake Forest, and Willie Pile, a safety who had 14 career interceptions at Virginia Tech.
In the first round on Saturday, the Chiefs took Penn State running back Larry Johnson, a 2,000-yard rusher who provides insurance if Priest Holmes fails to recover fully from his hip injury or holds out for more money.
Also on Saturday, the Chiefs took linebacker Kawika Mitchell of South Florida in the second round and defensive back Julian Battle of Tennessee in the third
school quarterback, went to the Chiefs in round No. 6.