Thursday, June 03, 2010

Former Eagles All-Pro Andrews taken in UFL Draft

Former Eagles All-Pro guard Shawn Andrews, who has struggled with back problems and off the field issues, was selected by the expansion Omaha Nighthawks in the United Football League Draft on Wednesday.

UFL teams preparing for the 2010 season each added 12 players to their respective rosters through the 2010 Player Draft.

With the first selection of the 2010 UFL Draft, head coach of the expansion Nighthawks, Jeff Jagodzinski, selected defensive end Dewayne White, a former second round NFL Draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Louisville.  The Nighthawks then added a second defensive end in ten-year NFL
veteran Chike Okeafor with the first pick of the second round.

"I am really excited about the guys that we've picked and feel that we are putting together a good team of youth and experience," said coach Jagodzinski. "These are guys that can make a difference and rush the passer in the case of Dewayne and Chike."

In the third round, the Nighthawks selected Andrews, who was originally taken 16th overall in 2004 NFL Draft by the Eagles.

The Nighthawks earned the first selection in the opening six rounds by virtue of being an expansion team and were followed in order by the Hartford Colonials (0-6 in 2009 as the New York Sentinels), Sacramento Mountain Lions (2-4 in 2009 as the California Redwoods), Florida Tuskers (6-0 in 2009, losing Championship Game finalists) and Las Vegas Locos   (4-2 in 2009, UFL Premiere Season Champions). 

Rounds seven through 12 followed a waiver wire selection system.

With the second overall selection, first year Hartford Colonials head coach Chris Palmer selected a local favorite in Connecticut running back Andre Dixon, who earned Second Team All-Big East honors both his sophomore and senior years. His 33 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown in the 2009 Papajohn.com Bowl
earned him the game MVP title.

Coach Palmer explained: "He went down to Danbury for our tryouts and had an excellent workout and I was very pleased with what I saw.  I talked to the people at UConn and they told me he was a guy who caught the ball extremely well.  You don't see that on film because they don't throw ball that much.  He
has great hands.

"We selected players who had attended all three of our workouts in Berlin, Danbury and Virginia, which shows just how worthwhile those tryouts are."

With his first round pick, Sacramento Mountain Lions head coach Dennis Green selected quarterback Justin Goltz, who was in training camp with the Detroit Lions in 2009 having been a three-year starter at Occidental.

"He came to two of our camps and was very impressive," said Green.  "He was a two-sport athlete in college and is a big tall guy with a really strong arm.

"We needed a couple of things and drafted two big offensive linemen in Tavita Thompson and Carl Spitale so that worked out for us.  We got two good cornerbacks in Tim Clark and Willie Glasper, who both have exceptional speed. We feel very excited about the 52 players we have."

Jay Gruden and the Florida Tuskers selected a pair of linebackers with the fourth and ninth picks overall in Weston Dacus from Arkansas and Arnold Harrison, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We are excited," said Gruden.  "Dacus is an athletic linebacker who was with Kansas City and everyone I spoke to there had positive things to say about him.  We need to get more speed and athleticism at the linebacker spot and these are two players who will have an immediate impact.  Harrison was a big
time player at Georgia and can play all three linebacker positions."

The reigning UFL champion Las Vegas Locos made two defensive selections with the final picks of the first two rounds in linebacker Dominic Payne and cornerback Michael Ray Garvin.

"We thought Dominic was a tremendous athlete who will give us a lot of versatility," said Locos head coach Jim Fassel.  "Michael Ray was the fastest guy I have ever seen run a 40.  He is lightning fast and quick and he has a great attitude.  He went to same high school as my son Mike and was a teammate of one of our linebackers, Brian Toal, so we had him in for a workout.  At one time he was the leading kickoff returner in NCAA.

"Overall from the draft, we thought we needed a guy here and there to round out the team.  We weren't depleted and we did a lot of research and most every one of the players we picked we had worked out.  It is down to the character of a player and his attitude.  We need a mix of pros with leadership qualities and
young developing players."

The Omaha Nighthawks spent the 60th and final pick overall on former Denver Broncos and New York Jets safety Nick Ferguson.  The former Georgia Tech star also won a World Bowl ring with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.

The drafted players will join players already protected by their 2009 clubs, or selected in the expansion draft by the Nighthawks, taking each team's provisional roster to the maximum of 52 allowed.  From June 3 onwards, teams may increase that number to 70 players who can participate in forthcoming Mini
Camps.

Players selected in the draft shall remain on each team's Reserved Unsigned List until formally added to the roster by virtue of a negotiated contract. Each team's roster will be released next week as they prepare to enter mini camps.

UFL roster breakdown:
* 20 protected players
* 20 additional unsigned free agents
* 12 drafted players

Rnd. No. UFL Team   Player             Pos. College
1    Omaha      Dewayne White      DE   Louisville
2   Hartford   Andre Dixon        RB   Connecticut
3   Sacramento Justin Goltz       QB   Occidental
4   Florida    Weston Dacus       LB   Arkansas
5   Las Vegas  Dominic Payne      LB   Western State
2    6   Omaha      Chike Okeafor      DE   Purdue
7   Hartford   Anthony Montgomery DL   Minnesota
8   Sacramento Tavita Thompson    OT   Oregon State
9   Florida    Arnold Harrison    LB   Georgia
10  Las Vegas  Michael Ray Garvin CB   Florida State
3    11  Omaha      Shawn Andrews      OT   Arkansas
12  Hartford   Shawn Bayes        WR   Kent State
13  Sacramento Tim Clark          CB   Oregon State
14  Florida    John Standeford    WR   Purdue
15  Las Vegas  Brian Coulter      DE   Missouri
4    16  Omaha      Adrian Jones       OT   Kansas
17  Hartford   Andre Barbour      OL   Eastern Kentucky
18  Sacramento Udofia Udeme       DT   Stanford
19  Florida    Erik Pederson      LB   Portland State
20  Las Vegas  Ryan Considine     OT   Louisiana Tech
5    21  Omaha      Kenny Peterson     DT   Ohio State
22  Hartford   Simoni Lawrence    LB   Minnesota
23  Sacramento Ryan McFoy         S    Arizona State
24  Florida    Tyrrell Herbert    S    Toledo
25  Las Vegas  Jovonte Taylor     WR   Hawaii
6    26  Omaha      Ronald Curry       WR   North Carolina
27  Hartford   Tim Mattran        OL   Stanford
28  Sacramento Antonio Chatman    WR   Cincinnati
29  Florida    Adrien Clark       OL   Ohio State
30  Las Vegas  Russ Weil          FB   Illinois
7    31  Hartford   Robert Ortiz       WR   San Diego State
32  Sacramento Carl Spitale       OT   Florida Atlantic
33  Florida    Kevin Harris       FB   Wake Forest
34  Las Vegas  Cliff Washburn     OT   Citadel
35  Omaha      DeMarcus Faggins   CB   Kansas State
8    36  Sacramento Dennis Keyes
S    UCLA
37  Florida    Cortez Hankton     WR   Texas Southern
38  Las Vegas  Eddy Newton        WR   Baylor
39  Omaha      Devard Darling     WR   Washington State
40  Hartford   Asaph Schwapp      FB   Notre Dame
9    41  Florida    Corey Small        DB   Florida Atlantic
42  Las Vegas  Tony Parrish       S    Washington
43  Omaha      Nate Webster       LB   Miami
44  Hartford   Brandon Drumgoole  DL   Greensboro College
45  Sacramento Bobby Guillory     WR   C Missouri State
10   46  Las Vegas  Lewis Baker        S    Oklahoma
47  Omaha      Frank Walker       CB   Tuskegee
48  Hartford   Ben Benshoof       OL   Wingate
49  Sacramento Curtis Young       DE   Cincinnati
50  Florida    Chris Perri        DE   Stony Brook
11   51  Omaha      Hollis Thomas      DT   Northern Illinois
52  Hartford   Clint McPeek       LB   New Mexico
53  Sacramento Willie Glasper     CB   Oregon
54  Florida    Greg Middleton     DE   Indiana
55  Las Vegas  Alex Henderson     RB   Northern Arizona
12   56  Hartford   Kendall Briscoe    DT   New Mexico
57  Sacramento Terrence Blevins   RB   Eastern Michigan
58  Florida    Melvin Fowler      C    Maryland
59  Las Vegas  Gabe Long          DT   Utah
60  Omaha      Nick Ferguson      S    Georgia Tech

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