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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