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With a smaller senior class, this wasn’t expected to be a big year for Virginia Tech in New York City. In fact, had David Wilson and Jayron Hosley stayed in school, Tech would have only had one player drafted in Danny Coale. A little surprising since Jarrett Boykin, Blake DeChristopher, and Eddie Whitley entered last year expecting to be late round picks at worst.
Still, it’s hard not to be happy with how the NFL draft turned out for our former Hokies. The New York Giants selected David Wilson with the last pick in the first round on Thursday night. Not only is Wilson going to a team who has won two Super Bowls in recent years but he’s entering a great situation with only one other running back ahead of him in Ahmad Bradshaw. Needless to say, I expect Wilson to receive a lot of carries this fall.
"Terrific football player," NY Giants owner Jerry Reese said in a Thursday night press conference. "He's a good piece to put in our running back stable along with some of the other backs that we have and we're happy to have a player of his caliber. He can run inside. He can run outside. I don't think Ahmad's role is going to change. He's going to be our lead dog and again, this guy is going to be a nice piece in our running back stable."
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin offered similar sentiments.
"He's the kind of guy that we felt would add very much to our present situation in terms of the big play potential. He's one of the guys that has the speed and maneuverability to make the big play and that's what was very important to us at this time. We were fortunate in that the players that we had set aside were all of need, need positions, and this guy was the highest rated."
Following Wilson to the Big Apple is cornerback Jayron Hosley, who was selected by the Giants in the 3rd round. Hosley hurt himself after word leaked out that he failed a drug test but it’s hard to be disappointed with the organization that took him. Reese covered Hosley's mishap in a Friday night press conference.
We're aware of that, obviously. He's not the first one to have a situation like that. He's a young kid - he's very young. He's 20 years old. He's an early-out junior. He knows that's a bad decision that he made and we expect better from him. We feel like we have a good player in him as well. He's not a big man, but this guy has athletic arrogance. He plays like a big guy. His skill set, years ago, kind of reminds me of Adam ‘Pacman' Jones - he plays kind of like that. He runs in there kind of like a little linebacker. He throws himself in there. He has outstanding cover skills. He's productive. He's an interceptor, he can intercept the ball, so we expect him to be in our nickel packages. And a bonus is that he's a punt returner. ... He has a lot of good qualities that we like."
The last player drafted was Danny Coale, who was picked by the Cowboys in the 5th round. Valued as a late round steal, it will be interesting to see how Coale does in the NFL. Dallas is stable organization that is pass happy at times so look for Coale to grab a few receptions this season.
Lastly, six Hokies signed on a undrafted free agents. These five will have to fight to make the 55 man roster or the practice squad this fall but at least they’ll have to a chance to do so in mini-camps over the summer. Below is the list of UDFA’s from Virginia Tech:
- Jarrett Boykin - Jacksonville Jaguars
- Blake DeChristopher - Arizona Cardinals
- Cris Hill - Buffalo Bills
- Eddie Whitley - Dallas Cowboys
- Jaymes Brooks - Green Bay Packers
- Andrew Lanier - Jacksonville Jaguars
Overall, this was a good draft year for the Hokies. But, 2013 is looking very promising although it depends on who comes out early. Our top seniors are Marcus Davis, DJ Coles, Dyrell Roberts, Vinston Painter, Nick Becton, Antoine Hopkins, and Bruce Taylor. But, guys like Logan Thomas, Kyle Fuller, Antone Exum, and James Gayle may flirt with the NFL if they have a good year in 2012.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Is the jay wright rumor true. This would be a great hire.
According to Villanova’s AD, we have not asked for permission to talk to him yet. So, the rumor does not appear to be true. There’s some mutual interest there but we would have to pay Wright close to 2 million a year and that’s just going to be too steep.