Three Southland Conference Football Players Selected In NFL Draft
FRISCO, Texas ? Three Southland Conference football standouts, McNeese State’s Bryan Smith, Nicholls State’s Kareem Moore and Northwestern State’s Demetrius Bell were all drafted on Sunday in the NFL Draft. The three players selected are the most for the Southland Conference since five were taken in 2002. Since 2000, the Southland has now had 21 players taken.
Smith was taken No. 80 overall with the 17th pick in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles. He is the highest SLC player to be selected since former McNeese State standout Keith Smith was taken No. 73 in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Moore went 180th overall with the 14th pick in the sixth round by the Washington Redskins.
Bell went 219th overall with the 12th pick in the seventh round by the Buffalo Bills.
Below is a following is a summary of all three players.
McNeese State ? Bryan Smith ? 80th overall ? 17th pick in 3rd Round by Philadelphia Eagles
LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State all-American Bryan Smith was drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles during Sunday's NFL draft, being the 80th player taken overall.
The Cowboy defensive end, the 2007 Southland Conference player of the year, is to report to the Eagles on Friday for a mini-camp.
He's the highest McNeese draft pick since defensive back Keith Smith (no relation) also went in the third round to the Detroit Lions during the 2004 draft.
Smith said Sunday from his home in Newton, TX that the Eagles informed him that they wanted him to play defensive end.
"I didn't get to see the selection on television" Smith said, "because I was on the phone with the Eagles. I don't remember who it was - the head coach or the general manager - but he told me that they were going to draft me just about the time that it came on televison.
"I really didn't know where I would go," Smith added. "Somewhere from the third to the sixth round."
He said that Philadelphia had not been one of the teams that had been talking to him the most and added that most of the teams were looking at moving him to outside linebacker.
"I am real happy to be going to the Eagles and to have a chance to continue to play defensive end," he added.
Besides Keith Smith, the new Eagle draftee will be joining former Cowboys B. J. Sams and Luke Lawton in the NFL. Both Sams and Lawton signed as free agents and have played for the last few seasons.
Sams, a punt and kickoff return specialist, signed and played with Baltimore for several seasons and just recently signed on with Kansas City while Lawton, a fullback and special teams player, has played with the Indianapolis Colts for the past two years.
This past season Smith was also named to the all-Louisiana team, to four all-American squads and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan national award. He also ranked fourth in the nation in quarterback sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage, setting Cowboy single game, single season and career records for sacks.
Smith was among the nation’s top five in quarterback sacks (10.5) and tackles for a loss (22.5) this past season.
Nicholls State ? Kareem Moore ? 180th Overall ? 14th pick in 6th Round by Washington Redskins
THIBODAUX, La. - Former Colonel standout Kareem Moore was selected by the Washington Redskins with the 14th pick (180th overall) in the sixth round marking the second consecutive year that Nicholls has had a player taken in the draft.
In the 2007 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected offensive lineman Jacob Bender in the sixth round (177th overall pick). Moore is the first defensive back from Nicholls to be taken in the NFL Draft since Chris Thompson was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round (110th overall pick) in 2004.
"We are all very excited and happy for Kareem. As a coach, you really love to see guys like him who give their all not just on the football field but in everything else to get this opportunity," said head coach Jay Thomas.
"He works hard, never takes a play off, and will do anything that you ask of him to help the team win. He’s just one of those special players."
Moore, who is known amongst his teammates as ?K-Mo,’ was a part of a historical season for the Colonels as they pulled off the biggest upset in school history at Division I-FBS Rice, 16-14, to open up the 2007 season. Nicholls climbed to as high as No. 13 in the FCS polls before falling out down the stretch.
The Okolona, Miss. native led the team in tackles for the second consecutive season with 73 in 2007 to go along with four interceptions with two being returned for touchdowns. The two interception returns for touchdowns came in the first quarter against Northwestern State en rout to a 58-0 victory over the Colonels' in-state and conference rival.
Fellow teammate and Buchanan Award Finalist Ladarius Webb followed Moore's two interception returns for touchdowns with two of his own in the second quarter giving the Colonels a NCAA record four interception returns for touchdowns in the first half. It tied the NCAA record for most in a game, which was ironically held by Northwestern State.
Moore was named 2007 SLC Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the All-SLC First Team as a safety. He was also named an AP All-American and a LSWA Second Team selection. Moore was also the 2006 SLC Newcomer of the Year.
Moore came to Nicholls by way of Itawamba CC. Before there, he was at Ole Miss where he started five games as a redshirt freshman.
Northwestern State ? Demetrius Bell ? 219th overall ? 12th pick in 7th Round by Buffalo Bills
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Northwestern State offensive tackle Demetrius Bell was the 219th player chosen in the 2008 NFL Draft, picked in the seventh round Sunday by the Buffalo Bills.
He will join one of the Demons' all-time great players, starting cornerback and 2004 Pro Bowl kick returner Terrence McGee, in Buffalo.
"I'm happy as I could be," said Bell. "I started to get worried when I wasn't picked after the end of the fifth round and I kept watching and hoping and worrying. It was as nerve-wracking as everybody said it would be, but now I'm really happy and it's time to go to work."
Bell had returned to his native Summerfield, a small community in rural north Louisiana, planning to fish at nearby Lake Claiborne and spend time with his mother and other family members, but bad weather spoiled his fishing plans and he returned to Natchitoches to await news on the draft.
McGee and Bell, two of the 39 football All-Americans in 100 years of Demon football history, met briefly when McGee visited the campus for a football game last fall during an open weekend for Buffalo.
"I shook his hand and said hello, but we don't know each other yet," said Bell. "I feel real good about going where he is. He is one of the best players to come out of Northwestern and he is a veteran player with the Bills, so he's a guy I will look to for advice while I'm trying to learn the ropes."
Bell will travel to Buffalo Thursday for a weekend mini-camp. Bills offensive line coach Sean Kugler called him to congratulate him on being selected before the pick was announced.
"I met him at the (NFL Scouting) Combine in February," said Bell. "He is going to be great to work for. I have a lot to learn and I am ready to get going."
Bell was one of only four Division I football players last year who also played basketball. He came to Northwestern in 2003 on a basketball scholarship, earning honorable mention All-America honors at Summerfield High School, where he was part of a graduation class of 12 at a school without a football team. He never put on a football helmet or shoulder pads in his life until going out for football in August 2005, with the support of NSU basketball coach Mike McConathy, who redshirted Bell in the 2005-06 season. Bell played in 2006-07, starting twice, and saw action in 88 career basketball games for the Demons, getting six starts, four as a true freshman.
After earning Associated Press first-team Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors last fall, he reluctantly decided to give up his basketball career to focus on his football future.
"It was the right thing for Demetrius, but it was a blow to our team. He was a very solid post presence, a strong defender and an outstanding leader," said McConathy. "But we had to look at the big picture and accept what was best for D-Bell, and that was to spend his time preparing for the draft and his future."
He started 22 consecutive games for the Demons over the past two seasons since being shifted to offensive left tackle three weeks before the 2006 season opener at Kansas. He was a second-team All-Louisiana choice after his junior year, then emerged last fall as a premiere player, earning first-team All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana honors along with All-America accolades.
"My junior season, I was learning on the move. I was having to think too much out there because it was all brand new, not having any football background at all. (Offensive line) coach (Jeremy) Offutt brought me along real well, and when my senior season came around I felt confident and knew what I needed to do, and I relaxed and had fun out there," he said.
"I'm young at football, but willing to work hard and willing to get things done on the field. I think my strongest point is pass blocking, but I'm getting stronger by the moment and that's a plus on my side for stopping the bull-rush. The run blocking is always getting better when I'm adding bulk and getting stronger too. Technique-wise it's all about the technique the coach wants. I think it's all on the upside," he told BuffaloBills.com.
Bell (6-5 ¼, 304 pounds) became the first Demon chosen in the draft in two years, since cornerback David Pittman was a third-round selection of the Baltimore Ravens. He joins veterans Mike Green (Seattle), Kenny Wright (Cleveland), Craig Nall (Green Bay), Pittman and McGee on the list of NSU's six active alumni in the NFL.
He was the 10th of 11 Louisiana college players chosen this weekend, including seven from LSU and one each from Northwestern, McNeese State, Nicholls State and Tulane. Bell was among 24 FCS players chosen.
He was one of three picked from the Southland Conference, headed by third-round selection Bryan Smith of McNeese State, a defensive end in college who is projected as a linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bell and Smith battled head to head for the past two seasons, although Smith left the 2007 NSU-McNeese game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return.
"Bryan Smith is a super football player, but head to head, D-Bell won those battles," said Demons' seventh-year head coach Scott Stoker. "I think he could be a heck of a pro player. We played five games in the last two seasons with him at left tackle going up against Big 12 and SEC teams (Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech and Ole Miss twice) and he played very well in all of those games, especially this past year at Texas Tech and at Ole Miss. D-Bell has a lot of upside and a ton of heart and desire."
Also chosen from the SLC was safety Kareem Moore of Nicholls State, a sixth-round selection by the Washington Redskins.
At least two of his 2007 NSU teammates, receiver Ben Bailey and tight end Clay Broyles, are strong candidates to sign free agent deals with NFL teams shortly in time to report to mini-camps later this week.
Eight former Demons, including McGee, have gone on to make Pro Bowl appearances or All-Pro teams, including receivers Mark Duper and Charlie Hennigan, running backs Joe Delaney, John Stephens and Charlie Tolar, and quarterback Bobby Hebert. Tight end Jackie Smith, a 1994 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, is the most notable NSU product in pro football, having punted and played tight end at NSU from 1959-62.
Southland Draft History Since 2000
2007 ? 3
2006 ? 2
2005 ? 0
2004 ? 2
2003 ? 1
2002 ? 5
2001 ? 1
2000 ? 6