82 Senior Bowlers drafted

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -  

The 2012 NFL Draft has come and gone but not before 82 former Senior Bowl players were selected over three days and seven rounds.  That’s a number that includes eight first round draft picks and represents 32 percent of the 253 players drafted.  Since 1999, the Senior Bowl has produced 152 first round selections and 1,212 draftees overall. 

North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples became the first Senior Bowl player drafted this year when the New York Jets selected him with the 16 ^th overall pick.  Coples was one of three Senior Bowl defensive ends to be selected in the first round, going just ahead of South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram (18 ^th—San Diego) and Boise State’s Shea McClellin (19 ^th—Chicago). 

For Coples, his Senior Bowl game performance (two TFLs, one sack) was one of many reasons the Jets made him their first round choice. “They (the Jets) just said that I stayed in the backfield, that I was getting to the quarterback and that’s what they needed,” Coples said.

The first round also saw the first Senior Bowl quarterback selected.  Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden went 22 ^nd overall to the Cleveland Browns, marking the third straight year a Senior Bowl quarterback has been chosen in the first round.

“We’re excited for all 82 former players and wish them the very best in the National Football League,” Senior Bowl Public Relations Director Kevin McDermond said.  “This year’s draft provided further proof that the Senior Bowl continues to play an integral part in the pre-draft process.”

The Senior Bowl featured the first senior player at nine different positions (RB, OG, OT, OC, DT, OLB, FS, CB, K) and the first overall player at three different positions (OLB, FS, K).  What makes the first round numbers so impressive is that more than half (19) of the first round draftees were underclassmen.

Thirty Senior Bowl players were drafted on day two of the NFL Draft, which consisted of rounds two and three.  

The second round began with Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick—a member of the North squad in Mobile this year—going to the St. Louis Rams at 33 ^rd overall.  Quick was one of 16 Senior Bowlers to be selected in the second round, a group that also included Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw (35 ^th overall—Baltimore).

“Going up and competing against guys like Quinton Coples and Melvin Ingram, that was huge,” Upshaw said of the Senior Bowl.  “I think the Senior Bowl experience helped in the fact that the interviews and stuff really prepared me going into the Combine and gave me an idea of what to expect.”

Senior Bowl Most Valuable Player Isaiah Pead was also selected during Friday’s second round.  The St. Louis Rams picked the University of Cincinnati running back 50 ^th overall.  Pead was one of three Senior Bowlers to be chosen by the Rams in the second round, joining Quick and North Alabama defensive back Janoris Jenkins (39 ^th overall). 

A total of 14 more Senior Bowl players were drafted in the third round, including two more quarterbacks.  Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson was picked 75 ^th overall by the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona’s Nick Foles went 88 ^th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.  Senior Bowler Tony Bergstrom of Utah closed out day two going 95 ^th overall to the Oakland Raiders.

Day three of the 2012 NFL Draft saw a total of 44 former Senior Bowl stars selected.  Among the former players to hear their names called Saturday was Arkansas wide receiver and return specialist Joe Adams.  Adams, the South team’s Most Outstanding Player in Mobile, went 104 ^th overall to the Carolina Panthers. 

29 of the NFL’s 32 franchises selected at least one Senior Bowl player in this year’s draft, with the Cleveland Browns leading the league with six Senior Bowl selections.  The Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings, who served as the coaching staffs for the 2012 game, combined to draft five players off of this year’s rosters.  The Vikings picked two players they coached in Mobile, including their first round selection in Notre Dame free safety Harrison Smith. 

“That was the one huge advantage of being able to coach the Senior Bowl because we got to know those players inside and out and know what they are about.  How they are in a meeting room.  How they are on the field.  Our coaches know what it’s like to coach that player so that was a huge advantage for us and we know exactly what we are getting in Harrison Smith,” Minnesota General Manager Rick Spielman said.

Of the three Senior Bowlers selected by the Redskins, two were on their South squad and one, Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins, played for the North. 

“I got a chance to know Kirk at the Senior Bowl,” Washington coach Mike Shanahan said.  “He’ll get a chance to come in here and show us what he can do.”

 

2012 Senior Bowl First Round Selections

 

Player	Position	School	Pick	NFL Team
Quinton Coples	DE	North Carolina	16	NY Jets
Melvin Ingram	DE	Washington	18	San Diego
Shea McClellin	DE	Boise State	19	Chicago
Brandon Weeden	QB	Oklahoma State	22	Cleveland
Kevin Zeitler	OG	Wisconsin	27	Cincinnati
Harrison Smith	FS	Notre Dame	29	Minnesota
A.J. Jenkins	WR	Illinois	30	San Francisco
Doug Martin	RB	Boise State	31	Tampa Bay