 "Photo:")
The New Orleans Saints continued their recent history of scooping up small-school prospects and made Towson football history in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Early on Sunday afternoon, Jermon Bushrod became the newest Saint and the first Tiger to get picked since 1994.
"I just went blank, man. I just couldn't believe it," Bushrod said.
There was no lack of suspense for the 6-foot-5-inch offensive tackle on draft weekend. Bushrod had to sweat out day one without hearing his name called and sunk his shoulders when the team he felt confident would grab him Sunday selected another lineman, Allen Barbre out of Missouri Southern State.
"A couple picks before me, the team that I think was most interested in getting me was Green Bay and they had picked a left tackle," Bushrod said. "I didn't know what was going to happen from there. I thought I was definitely going to move down a lot."
Within 10 minutes, the Saints came calling in.
"Right when they were on the clock and they were about to select, they called me about two minutes before," Bushrod said. "They asked me would I like to wear the black and gold, and I told them I'd love to."
New Orleans had success a year ago taking players from non-Division I schools. Offensive guard Jahri Evans was also a fourth-round pick out of Division II Bloomsburg University. Evans played in all 16 regular-season games for head coach Sean Payton's.
"We're about the same size and we're both pretty physical players," Bushrod said.
The other successful small-school prospect, like Bushrod, has his roots in the Atlantic 10. Wide receiver Marques Colston was a seventh-round selection out of Hofstra who went on to play in 14 regular-season games, finishing with 70 grabs for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns.
"They don't mind drafting smaller-school athletes and developing them into starters or backups right away," Bushrod said.
The player that friends call 'Chunk' was one of the last players seen by the Saints. New Orleans' offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Doug Marrone was in Towson working out Bushrod last Tuesday, Bushrod's last day of workouts.
"Probably the main reason, I'm guessing, they even gave a serious look at me was because I did pretty good when the O-line coach came and worked me out," Bushrod said.
After spending three of his four years as an instrumental part of the Tigers' transition from the Patriot League to Atlantic 10 play, Bushrod joins a Saints team that had an awe-inspiring turnaround following Hurricane Katrina, making it to the NFC Championship Game in 2006. Two of the key parts of that turnaround were Drew Brees and Reggie Bush, players the Towson product is looking forward to playing alongside of.
"It's awesome," Bushrod said. "It's going to be an extreme pleasure to block for a guy like Drew Brees and open up holes for a guy like Reggie Bush. I'm definitely excited."
No longer is Tony Vinson the last player drafted out of Towson. Bushrod is the first Tiger selected since Vinson in 1994, and was snagged a round earlier than the former Chargers, Ravens and Falcons running back.
"I hope it answers some questions for guys who have professional aspirations and don't get recruited by big-time schools," Bushrod said.
His career will begin in two weeks at New Orleans' weeklong rookie mini-camp. Bushrod will then return for his graduation, and will then head back to the Big Easy a day after walking in his commencement ceremony.
"If I work hard enough, I'll have a job in the National Football League for a while," Bushrod said. "That's going to stay in my mind every single day."
RSS Feeds
Be the first to comment on this article!