Dogs in the draft: Five players picked, including three defensive tackles
Five former Georgia players were selected in the NFL draft the past two days, including the top three defensive tackles on last season’s team.
The tackle trio was picked on Saturday: Geno Atkins in the fourth round by Cincinnati and Jeff Owens and Kade Weston in the seventh round by Philadelphia and New England, respectively.
They joined former teammates Rennie Curran, the linebacker chosen by Tennessee late in the third round Friday night, and Reshad Jones, the safety selected by Miami in the fifth round Saturday, as Georgia’s draft class.
The Bulldogs wound up with the 97th (Curran), 120th (Atkins), 163rd (Jones), 243rd (Owens) and 248th (Weston) picks of the draft. Jones was selected a bit lower than expected and Owens much lower than some projections.
Entering the seven-round draft, there was no consensus on who would be the first player picked from Georgia. That turned out to be Curran, who was watching the draft with family and friends at his Snellville home when he got a phone call from Titans coach Jeff Fisher late Friday night.
“That was the best call of my life, the best sound,” Curran said. “Just picking up the phone call, my heart skipped a beat.”
Curran bypassed his senior season at UGA to enter the draft, and after hearing questions about his height (5-10 ½) for months, he considered his decision validated by the Titans choosing him in Round 3.
“They have a very aggressive defense, and I feel like I am going to fit perfectly with their defensive scheme,” Curran said on a conference call. “I’m just glad a team took a chance on me, and they will not regret [it]. I am looking to make an impact.”
After Curran, the next selection from Georgia was Atkins, who said he went in the round he expected (fourth). He did not expect, however, to be selected by the Bengals.
“They didn’t work me out or anything,” Atkins said. “It was kind of a surprise, really.”
Jones, on the other hand, was less surprised by the team that picked him (Miami) than by the round (fifth). The Atlanta native, who left school early for the draft, had expected to go in the second or third round.
In need of immediate help at safety, the Dolphins brought Jones to Miami for a workout and interview last month. When he was still available late in the fifth round, they traded sixth- and seventh-round picks to Washington in order to grab him.
“It’s been kind of crazy over the last couple of days,” Jones said on the Dolphins’ website. “But I think it worked out for the best.”
For Owens, the draft was agonizing. Analysts had fluctuated wildly in their projections, forecasting him to go anywhere from the second round to the seventh. By early Saturday afternoon, Owens posted on Twitter: “Now in the fifth round still waiting on a phone call. Going into camp with a chip on my shoulder.”
Several hours later, he was selected 12 spots from the end of the draft by Philadelphia.
“I finally found my home,” Owens then tweeted. “Motown Philly here I come!!!!”
Five picks later, New England’s selection of Weston completed Georgia’s draft delegation.
“Congratulations to everyone that was drafted,” Atkins typed on Twitter. “We did it. We’re in the NFL!!!”
Postscript: Former Georgia wide receiver Mike Moore announced on Twitter Saturday night that he will sign with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent. Two other undrafted players from Georgia also agreed to sign with NFL teams as free agents: safety Bryan Evans with Cincinnati and cornerback Prince Miller with Baltimore.
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152 comments Add your comment
Oh Harold
April 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
All caps… Really Harold. I am at work killing time before I go home. Why are you blasting Georgia at 11:14 on a Saturday night. Do your parents know you are up this late. Time for bed pumpkin. Never type angry… Go dawgs
Timmy's Agent
April 24th, 2010
11:51 pm
Warren — Timmy’s contract will be more than what you’ll probably make in a lifetime.
Pago Flyer
April 25th, 2010
12:04 am
Not really concerned about the NFL. Concerned more about winning some SEC games!
Dawgforlife
April 25th, 2010
12:19 am
Tech SV….Two first rounders drafted and still couldn’t beat UGA…what gives? Add to that, Dwyer went from stud tailback with 4.4 speed to almost undrafted fullback with 4.7 speed. PJ owes him a formal apology.
Tdawg
April 25th, 2010
12:45 am
Warren and Harold………..Georgia is 3 and 1 against mighty Alabama the past 4 games so for once and all Alabama needs to shut their over rated mouths until they even the score and the last time I looked 1 win and 3 loses against a team does not equal the score. My bad, forgot, we’re talking about Alabama. Not exactly mathematicians in ole Tuscaloosa.
Florida and even Tennessee has earned the right to brag. Alabama! Hell no.
rduck
April 25th, 2010
1:28 am
As a Tech fan, let me say congrats to the UGA players that got drafted and had their dreams fulfilled. I get tired of the back and forth bashing no matter which team has a blog written about them. Both GT and UGA are turning out outstanding players each year. It is a great compliment to both programs and institutions. Lets leave the BS to a minimum until the teams are even close to playing each other..
76-Dawg
April 25th, 2010
2:13 am
If i counted correctly the SEC had 49 players drafted out of 255. Does anyone have the numbers for the other conferences.
Sir Stealth
April 25th, 2010
4:41 am
I hate it when any college fans try to take pride in anything that happens regarding a pro league for football, basketball, whatever. The only things that matter are the wins and losses that a team has on the field. Anything before or after is irrelevant, and I am saying this as a Dawg fan. I’d like us to translate talented players into more wins, and Tech fans should feel the same.
SSG Desert Dawg
April 25th, 2010
4:58 am
Prince Miller signed a free agent contract with Baltimore according to a friend of the fam. Congrats to all the UGA football players pursuing their dreams. Go Dawgs.
The Other St. Simons
April 25th, 2010
7:39 am
Who was the last former Tech QB to go first in the draft?
Who was the last former Tech QB to get arrested?
Big time?? Not
April 25th, 2010
7:44 am
Four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes
Dr M
April 25th, 2010
7:57 am
Hey, what about #13, Jake Scott???
GaGator
April 25th, 2010
8:08 am
Want to know why Georgia hasn’t been competitive the last 10 years in Jacksonville?
COACHING!!!!!!!! Florida and Georgia recruiting classes are usually very close every year, but the Gators coach their player much better, just check this year’s NFL draft.
The Gators had 7 players out of the 1st 75 picks, before the 1st Georgia player at 95, the Gators also led the nation with 9 picks over all and they were ahead of all but two bulldogs.
When are you going to realize Richt is not that good of a coach—nice guy, bad coach?
Gator 2010 Draftees
CB Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns – 1st Round, 7th Overall
C Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers – 1st Round, 18th Overall
QB Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos – 1st Round, 25th Overall
DE Jermaine Cunningham, New England Patriots – 2nd Round, 53rd Overall
DE Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals – 2nd Round, 54th Overall
LB Brandon Spikes, New England Patriots – 2nd Round, 62nd Overall
S Major Wright, Chicago Bears – 3rd Round, 75th Overall
TE Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots – 4th Round, 113th Overall
WR Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles – 5th Round, 159th Overall
GaGator
April 25th, 2010
8:13 am
Also, did you notice, the best coach in the NFL loves Florida players.
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots selected 3 Gators!
GaGator
April 25th, 2010
8:18 am
From the Gainsville Sun
Belichick likes what Meyer is sending him. Belichick had time to sit down for a lengthy meeting with both Cunningham and Spikes after UF’s Pro Day in March.
“They’re extremely well coached by Urban Meyer and his staff, so it’s really a lot of fun to sit down and talk football with them,’’ Belichick said. “They play against other top players in the draft. So it’s a lot of fun to watch film with them and watch them play against other players who are either in the draft this year or were in the draft last year or will be in the draft next year if they were underclassmen. It was a productive two days (in Gainesville).”
HBTD1
April 25th, 2010
8:21 am
GaGator- Yep! You all were LOADED last year but got your tail ends handed to you by Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. It was not even close. Tebow got slammed after the pushed through Pouncey like water play after play. Your Spikes got pancaked and thrown around like a little rag doll girl. McElroy(ha ha..great QB) ate Haden’s and Wright’s lunch all day. Riley Cooper was kept in check the whole game. The entire UF squad had a stunned look on their faces because they were finally playing a real football team…not some College of Charleston.
So my question is with ALL that talent, why did UF suck so bad in the SECCG? Coaching?
Yeah! That is what I thought. Now go home, chump. Gatorzone.com is good place for you to go pat yourself on the back with that grandiose junk!
HBTD1
April 25th, 2010
8:23 am
What kind of fircking LOSER comes to another teams blog on a Sunday morning to beat his chest? Wow! You have some insecurity issues, dude!
atlgator
April 25th, 2010
8:24 am
It’s hilarious that UGA whiners would use NFL draft stats as a metric for success over UF, ALA, etc. But please keep it up. Your apparent satisfaction with a stalled program that can eke out 3 wins out of the last 20 in Jax works fine for us. Excuse me, I need to go check out Vandy’s fan boards and see what’s making them feel good about themselves these days….
Better coaches
April 25th, 2010
8:38 am
Athens cops have always picked on the football players.
ATL XMAN
April 25th, 2010
8:39 am
the reason fla has beaten uga the last few years is because of timing just bad timing…are best players leave earl for the NFL and yours stay so more times than not UGA is fielding young talent against UF older talent…seniors and JRs aginst UGA very talented sophs and freshmen..UGA has been working with more freshmen on the offensive and defensive line that last two years than UF..this year will be a different story.. UGA will have the expierence of talented players while UF will have the younger offensive and defensive line…our skill players are about the same…UGA will win this year..might be close..but they will pull off the victory..
GaGator
April 25th, 2010
8:46 am
hey ol’ HBTD1
If Florida lost to Alabama (32-13) was so terrible, what are the 49-10 and 41-17
scores in Jacksonville?
GaGator
April 25th, 2010
8:49 am
ATL XMAN
Let me just point out, 17 out of 20 years is more than a FEW.
bamadawg
April 25th, 2010
8:52 am
Delores is a TechTurd…need I say more
dagnabit
April 25th, 2010
9:04 am
Delores talks for herself only. Georgia students work their asses off to get those degrees. I have several friends with degrees from Georgia and they had to work hard to get them. Let’s have a little less of this kind of insult.
Deanna
April 25th, 2010
9:09 am
Motown Philly? Sounds like Jeff’s got some learning to do about his new city.
rogeriter
April 25th, 2010
9:17 am
Here are some stats on this years draft. Numbers of players drafted by conference.
SEC-49, Acc-31,Big 12-30, Big 10-34, Pac 10-29, Big East18, Sunbelt -7, Mountain West-13, Conf. USA–6. Go SEC!
Big Al
April 25th, 2010
9:23 am
I am surprised that the pro teams overlooked Joe Cox.
Big Al
April 25th, 2010
9:24 am
Just in case someone does not understand my humor, that was sarcasm.
HBTD1
April 25th, 2010
9:24 am
GaGator….Yeah! Great come back, and diversion tactic. Chump!
Bama Tide
April 25th, 2010
9:53 am
Georgia—all that recruiting talent, but then they lose 5 games. Unexplainable. These studs need to come to bama instead—play for national titles then make big money in the NFL!!!
tim
April 25th, 2010
10:01 am
georgia football is akin to AAA baseball…you second rate losers will never, ever be a top shelf sec east team as long as UF is in the east
Spokesman for the SEC East
April 25th, 2010
10:01 am
Let’s see UGA 5 players drafted from a program over a hundred years old, USF 5 players drafted from a program barely 10 years old. OUTSTANDING job Mark Richt.
Spokesman for the SEC East
April 25th, 2010
10:04 am
HBTD1, sure sign of a loser; talking about how your rival got hammered by someone other than YOU because your team went to the Shreveport Bowl. This is exactly why everone else in the South is laughing at your program.
HBTD1
April 25th, 2010
10:34 am
Spokesman for the SEC East- Nope! The sure sign of LOSER is you who comes onto a UGA blog to talk trash on a Sunday morning. I looked up synonym for ‘loser” in my thesaurus, and lo and behold it had ‘Spokesman for the SEC East’ and “GaGator’ as viable alternatives.
I Hate UGAY
April 25th, 2010
10:56 am
Close uga NOW.
jack
April 25th, 2010
11:02 am
I guess I must have overlooked it,, but who drafted Joe Cox ??????????????
I Hate UGAY
April 25th, 2010
11:02 am
Prediction: UGA will be closed permanently by 2013! Good riddance.
dan
April 25th, 2010
11:12 am
I think this was a low draft for the Dawgs especially in comparison to last year, when Stafford and Knowshon went in the 1 round. Here is my take on all the guys:
Rennie Curran: Good kid with a good motor, but too small and isn’t a great form tackler. He’s a Keith Brooking type who gets a lot of tackles upfield but isn’t a game changer. I think the Titans reached a bit with him, especially as a 3rd round pick.
Geno Atkins: may be the best out of the bunch. He’s a little small, but is very aggressive and could grow. Was a little lazy at times, but I think money will motivate him to play harder.
Rashad Jones: could have benefited from staying one more year. He does have good athletic ability and can make plays on the ball, which is what NFL teams look for in their safety’s. He was also lazy, especially against the run but can hit when he wants to. He could be a role player.
Jeff Owens : This guy could have went higher in the draft if he weren’t so damn lazy on the field. Owens did great in the combine but I guarantee that scouts looked at his game film from this past year and saw him dogging it or getting blocked out of plays. 7th round was WAY too low for him. With that being said, Philly is a good organization and if Chris Clemons can excel there, so can Owens.
I Hate UGAY
April 25th, 2010
11:29 am
The U-10 Ginger Kids Pop Warner football team drafted Joe Cox as a kicker.
Jerome
April 25th, 2010
11:29 am
To he** with Georgia
superDawg
April 25th, 2010
11:30 am
Joe Cox will coach at tech someday.
superDawg
April 25th, 2010
11:35 am
Joe Cox beat tech 30-24.
Joe Cox
April 25th, 2010
11:54 am
Does anyone know when the draft is over? I am still sitting by my phone waiting for the call…..starting to get a little worried. My face is all red and purple.
option smoption
April 25th, 2010
11:56 am
I hate…The U-10 Ginger Kids Pop Warner football team could probably beat tech. With or without Joe.
Chris
April 25th, 2010
12:00 pm
GT Dog,
That was a good point. Five players drafted on the defensive side of the ball, none drafted highly but all considered NFL caliber talent and the defense so bad. I read about how Owens and Atkins blew up the combine with 44 and 39 reps and wreaked havoc at the senior bowl practices all week. I was like ‘why did we never generate any pressure with the front four’? Didn’t we rank last in the SEC in turnovers? Why didn’t that talent translate to performance? Coach Willie is the obvious answer I guess.
Reminds me of the year Donnan said he had waited ‘50 years’ to coach a team with this much talent…Seymour and Stroud. What did that end up being? An 8-4 team in the Aloha Bowl?
The trend is???
April 25th, 2010
12:22 pm
NFL draftee count
Florida 9
Bama 7
Georgia 5
Soooo. Florida has almost twice as many draftees as Georgia. Mmmmh! Alabama has had Saban only 3 years. Saban hasn’t even had a chance to have a full senior class go through and yet he had 2 more players drafted then Richt did in 9 years at Georgia. Mmmmmh!
So what exactly is this trend telling us about Richt’s recruiting, his ability to develop talent, and most of all his coaching relative to the 2 big boy programs in the SEC? It tells us something. And what it tells us aint good. Especially considering Saban has had only 3 years at Bama.
Dawg Rule
April 25th, 2010
12:39 pm
Bama and saban are cheating again to get all that talent–bank on it. If Ga cheated like that in recruiting, they would have a bunch of top players drafted.
Let me offer some advice to all
April 25th, 2010
12:41 pm
I am a UGA man to the core. I could care less where or what round or for how much money a kid gets after he either graduates or skips his junior or senior or fith year senior year for the pros.
Once they leave ………they are union workers. I do not support unions if I can help it. I am not an obamaron …………..union, union, unions is the NBA/NFL or pro baseball.
NCAA sports and then who is in the World Series, or who is in the Super Bowl or the NBA playoffs??? I could care less. Most grads of most institutions will agree. Only the dead beats care about the pros.
Go Dogs.
PTC DAWG
April 25th, 2010
12:49 pm
To the advice giver above…I’ll give you some too..it is good for UGA and other teams for that matter to have multiple guys drafted..it keeps them in the news…the potential recruits look at it…I see your point about Unions, but even you, with your narrow view, would have to know that NFL players all negotiate on their own….is it the money they make that bothers you?
Mark May
April 25th, 2010
1:29 pm
Dawg Rule, everybody cheats but georgia. Everybody hates georgia. Lets see jawja thinks that Kirk Herbstreit does, Lou Holtz does, Lee Corso does, everyone at ESPN does, I do, well I guess that one is true, the SEC does, the refs do, the Ol Ball Coach does, well I guess he does too. Poor ol georgia. At least Ray Charles and Wille Nelson dont hate you. What a bunch of people with inferiority complexes!