Friday, March 29, 2024

Being drafted; the first step

The NFL Draft can be the most exciting two days in a young college football player’s life. This weekend, five Spartans came one step closer to playing professional football.

Five players from a team that finished 7-5 last season is a pretty good accomplishment, and showed just how much talent that team had.

Last year the Spartans weren’t represented until the seventh round, when three players were selected.

Cornerback Renaldo Hill went to the Arizona Cardinals, center Siitupe Peko went to the New York Jets and T.J. Turner was selected by the New England Patriots.

The 2001-02 team was hard to figure out, but with all the injuries and numerous mental breakdowns, having five Spartans selected to play professional football shows how great their individual careers were at MSU.

Tailback T.J. Duckett was the first Spartan selected at the 18th pick by the Atlanta Falcons. The junior was the second running back drafted.

What’s surprising about this selection is that Duckett only has played the position for two and a half years.

Duckett was switched from linebacker to running back midway through his freshman season. And all he did was amass 3,379 yards on the ground, good enough for fifth all-time in career rushing yards.

Chris Baker was the sixth tight end taken when he was selected by the New York Jets with the 88th pick in the third round.

Baker’s decision to play all four years allowed him to become the Spartans’ all-time record-holder for receptions by a tight end with 133.

The 6-foot-3, 258-pounder also was a solid fixture in the Spartan lineup. He started 47 consecutive games, which included a 24-game streak in which he caught at least one pass.

Baker is a decent blocker with good hands and could turn out to be the one Spartan who will make it to the Pro Bowl.

The next Spartan wasn’t selected until the fifth round, when the Denver Broncos selected wide receiver Herb Haygood.

Haygood has one asset that every team in the NFL needs - speed.

Who could forget his dash to the end zone against Notre Dame on fourth down with no time remaining on the clock, giving the Spartans the dramatic victory in 2000?

In his senior season, Haygood not only returned kicks, but also developed into a clutch receiver late in the season.

After stressing too much at the beginning the season, Haygood calmed down and was the team’s second-leading receiver with 57 receptions, four of which went for touchdowns.

Haygood was the second wide receiver selected by Denver in this year’s draft. Hawaii’s Ashley Lelie was the team’s first-round pick.

Haygood could see some time as the fourth or fifth receiver for the Broncos. Last year wide receiver Ed McCaffrey suffered a broken leg, which left receiver Rod Smith to carry the burden.

Defensive tackle Josh Shaw also was selected in the fifth round to the San Francisco 49ers. Shaw had his best season as a Spartan last year, when he finished with 54 tackles, four sacks and even two interceptions in one game.

Shaw’s stock might have dropped because of a knee injury late in the season, but that wasn’t enough to stop the 49ers.

The last Spartan to be selected was punter Craig Jarrett, who went to the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round. Jarrett is the first punter to be selected out of MSU since Greg Montgomery was selected by the Houston Oilers in 1988.

After witnessing several of Jarrett’s 70-yard bombs, he definitely can make a career out of kicking the pigskin, but he still has to work on his pooch kicks.

Several Spartans weren’t selected in the draft, but still could have decent pro careers. Josh Thornhill is at the top of that list with long snapper Tony Grant.

But the five guys drafted can now rest easy, knowing their careers may continue at the next level, but their talent will prove if they can stick around.

Ryan Wallace, sports administration reporter, was not picked in the draft. E-mail him your condolences at wallac89@msu.edu.

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