Saturday a day of redemption for as six more Bulldogs go in NFL draft
Brandon Boykin's kick-returning skills -- the is one of three 100-yard returns he had -- figure to benefit him greatly with the Philadephia Eagles. (AP photo)
Saturday represented “redemption day” in the NFL draft for a few Georgia Bulldogs.
Brandon Boykin and Orson Charles both projected as higher draft picks than when they were finally chosen in the fourth round. Charles, a tight end from Tampa who had a year of eligibility remaining, had to wait until the Cincinnati Benglas took him with the 116th pick overall early Saturday afternoon. Boykin, a defensive back and kick returner out of Fayetteville, went seven picks later to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Both were all-conference selections and highly-productive football players at Georgia, only to see their NFL stock devalued before the draft.
Charles had already been hurt by poor workouts when he was arrested for DUI in Athens on March 9. Boykin suffered a broken leg in the midst of an impressive performance in the Senior Bowl back in February. So instead of getting a call on the first or second day as originally expected, Boykin and Charles had to wait until day three to finally realize their NFL dreams.
“Based on what I expected, I was a little upset it didn’t happen sooner,” said Boykin, who was enjoying a party with family and friends at home in Fayetteville Saturday afternoon. “But after not getting my name called [Friday], I knew it’d definitely happen soon [on Saturday]. And when I finally got the call I was really excited. At this point, everybody’s on an even level and you just have to go out and prove yourself. That’s no different than I’ve always had to do.”
Charles said he definitely thought the arrest impacted his draft status. But he said he just tried to be honest with the teams that asked him about it.
“I just elaborated to them that it was a one-time mistake and that it won’t happen again,” Charles said. “That might have been the worst thing to happen in my life. [I had to] explain to my [11-year old] brother what I did and [tell him] ‘don’t follow in my footsteps’ and tell my mom I was sorry. I just put my family in a bind.”
Ben Jones was the first of six Georgia players to be selected on Saturday. Jones, a four-year-starter for the Bulldogs at center, was taken by the Houston Texans early in fourth round with the 99th pick overall.
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Jones told reporters. “I’m just excited. It’s in the South. I love being from the South. I was born down here. It’s good to stay down South. I can’t wait to get down there, enjoy Texas and be in Houston.”
Place-kicker Blair Walsh went to the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round, offensive lineman Justin Anderson of Ocilla went to the Indianapolis Colts with the first pick of the seventh round and defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson was taken by the Ravens later in the seventh with the 236th pick overall.
Offensive lineman Cordy Glenn of Riverdale was the first Bulldog off the board when he chosen by the Buffalo Bills with the 41st pick overall during the second round on Friday.
Boykin said the Georgia players all leaned on each other as they were waiting to hear from the NFL.
“We talked the whole time,” Boykin said. “I was texting Ben and Orson throughout the day [Saturday]. I was telling them to hang in there; they were telling me to hang in there. We were just trying to be there for one another, not really knowing what was going to happen. But we all knew we were going to get our shot. Once Ben finally got picked it happened kind of quick for all of us.”
Boykin believes his situation is going to be worth the wait.
“I was the first corner they took in the draft, so they definitely want me to come in and play right away and compete for the nickel spot,” he said. “They want me to go out and be a punt returner and a kick returner, too. That’s what they told me today. So I’m just going to go up there and do what I’ve been doing.”
Boykin won the Paul Hornung Award as college football’s most versatile athlete this past season. He finished his career with 2,663 kickoff return yards – second best in SEC history – and returned four for touchdowns, including three for 100 yards each. He was also named MVP of the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 when he scored three different ways: a tackle for a safety, a pass reception for a touchdown and a 92-yard punt return for a TD.
Boykin said he has completely recovered from his leg injury and will be ready to compete when the Eagles’ rookie mini-camp begins on May 11.
Charles was also eager to get started. He is close friends with former Georgia teammate A.J. Green, who starred as a rookie wide receiver for the Bengals last season. Charles was surprised to learn he’d have to wait until mid-May to report.
“Essentially it was in my head I would come up there today and start working with some of the guys on the team and start to get familiar with how Andy Dalton throws and hang out with A.J. and try to come in and make an impact in my rookie year,” he said.
Punter Drew Butler, defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson and tight ends Bruce Figgins and Aron White were among the Georgia graduates still hoping to hear from the NFL.
NFL BULLDOGS
The following Georgia players were selected in the 2012 NFL draft:
- OL Cordy Glenn (6-5, 348), Riverdale — Buffalo Bills, No. 41
- C Ben Jones (6-2, 303), Centerville, Ala. — Houston Texans, 99
- TE Orson Charles (6-3, 250), Tampa, Fla. — Cincinnati Bengals, 116
- CB Brandon Boykin (5-10, 182), Fayetteville — Philadelphia Eagles, 123
- PK Blair Walsh (5-9, 187), Boca Raton, Fla. — Minnesota Vikings, 175
- OL Justin Anderson (6-4, 342), Ocilla — Indianapolis Colts, 208
- DL DeAngelo Tyson (6-2, 315), Statesboro — Baltimore Ravens 236
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160 comments Add your comment
hbcuclassics
April 28th, 2012
10:23 pm
HBCU Classic Sports
2012 Draft Update:
Christian Thompson, S, SC State – Baltimore
Ryan Davis, DE/OLB, Bethune – Jacksonville
Mario Louis, WR, Grambling – Houston
Marquette King, P, FVSU – Oakland
James Dekle, G, Prairie View – Arizona
Kevin Elliott, WR, FAMU – Jacksonville
Demario Pippen, RB,Tuskegee – Denver
LaMont Bryant, TE, Morgan St – Baltimore
Bryan Tymes, TE, FAMU – San Francisco
Jared Green, WR, Southern – Carolina
Donovan Robinson, DE, Jackson St – New York Jets
Adrian Hamilton, DE, Prairie View – Dallas
Antonio Dennard, CB, Langston – Jaguars
Paul Cox, WR, Mississippi Valley St – Chargers
Nicolas Cooper, RB, Winston Salem St – Packers
stay tuned…www.hbuclassics.com
Pago Pago DAWG
April 28th, 2012
10:41 pm
So who drafted washout ealey?
bucket
April 28th, 2012
10:46 pm
@ URnotUA – yeah, right. You usually don’t post on UGA blogs! You just happened to be trolling through right? Congratulations to all the Dawgs drafted today. I think several of them have a great chance to have productive careers. Why is everyone busting on these guys for not being picked early enough? First of all, all of these guys got picked way higher than any of us wannabe jocks were or will ever be. Also, Charles was the 116th pick. A couple were higher and a few were lower. Do you realize how many guys are out there for the pros to evaluate? Also, every team is not looking for the positions that some of the UGA guys play. True UGA fans should just congratulate the guys who wore the G and the haters need to go back to their own teams blogs and talk about all the guys who were or were not drafted today.
Brainiac
April 28th, 2012
11:42 pm
@ Ghost: & Jim P
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting another Single Digit IQ(aka Jim P) in his place. These blogs get overrun by dummies that read a couple of blogs and think they have become experts!!!!!!
Ghost = DGD
Jim P = Loser
Brainiac
April 28th, 2012
11:49 pm
@ Should I:
GT has a blog?????????????????????
Brainiac
April 29th, 2012
12:02 am
For all you “statistic freaks” half the teams in the SEC has More current players in the NFL than Bama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UGA has the most current NFL players of any SEC team!!!!!!!!!!!
NewnanDawg
April 29th, 2012
12:04 am
If Jarvis Jones has the year everyone expects him to this year, he’ll be representing the Dawgs in the first round this time next year.
7576DAWG
April 29th, 2012
12:47 am
It may matter if you are a first round draft choice because of the money you can make the first few years but if you don’t produce and prove you are worth it , you won’t get a second contract. Point of this is the most important goal is to be given a shot at being a Pro. Maybe you won’t sign for much more than the league minimum but getting a contract of any kind will assure you a foot in the door and then it is left up to you to prove you are good enough to get your contract renewed.
Alabama may have had a lot of their players in the first round and one in the second but it is no more important than the players Georgia got in the fourth and fifth rounds. The first round players are going to have to prove they belong in the NFL just as much as the players drafted in the later rounds. The only difference will be the starting salary. If a seventh round draft does a great job and wins a starting job his first or second year he will catch up on salary real fast.
The stat that is the most important is how many total players does Georgia have in Pro ball compared to Alabama and that number is no contest.
boykin
April 29th, 2012
1:14 am
Jarvis Top 5 pick Newnan Dawg!
kingdaddy
April 29th, 2012
1:34 am
Never text when you’re in a bad mood. Nothing good will ever come of it…
plaxdaddy
April 29th, 2012
1:40 am
Run to the hills……..Please dont take my job Techster.
GTBob, Jr.
April 29th, 2012
1:42 am
Trolls always rear their ugly heads! Where r you Dad? We got 1 of us in NFL…Good team to be on…those Jets!
always hatin dawg
April 29th, 2012
1:44 am
Heck with AAron…never seen a Dawg QB i like other than Staffy!!! Ever.
bitter dop_e heads
April 29th, 2012
6:14 am
falcons calling drew butler——-right—–since when do they make good moves??
bitter dop_e heads
April 29th, 2012
6:35 am
Tracy howard and kaleb king look alike————-jokes on you king—-jail bird
Buckeye
April 29th, 2012
8:23 am
Caleb is one fine dog. Apparently GAC did not deliver either.
Homepage | MrSEC
April 29th, 2012
9:20 am
[...] 7. The league grabs six players from Georgia. “Redemption Day.” [...]
LHarding Dawg
April 29th, 2012
9:45 am
I don’t believe Caleb is a dog anymore. Only a fool would say something like that!
By the sweet by and by
April 29th, 2012
10:07 am
Will the AJC be keeping readers informed of the condition of the poor victim of a vicious beating by C. King?
AAAAA Athens Bail Bonds R Us
April 29th, 2012
10:12 am
Do Mark Richt’s recruits get an orientation at the Athens-Clarke County jail to get them familiar with being arrested?
guillotine
April 29th, 2012
10:49 am
I don’t believe Caleb is a dog anymore. Only a fool would say something like that!
only a fool indeed! own it dawgs…
RedandBlackDAWG
April 29th, 2012
10:54 am
I don’t think any Alabama fans should be bragging about how great the tide players were that were drafted for the NFL in 2012.
UGA has ten more players in the NFL right now than Alabama.
And here is a bit of trivia for SEC fans, no matter the team. How many Alabama players were drafted in 2008 (that’s 4 years ago, for those fans that can not count). If you guessed Alabama, you would be right. Every time there is a new owner, new collective bargaining agreement or some team wants a new stadium, the criteria for what talent is and thus who gets drafted changes. Often times, it is the guy from the small schools, that do the best job and make a big name for themselves. Remember Walter Peyton, Randy Moss and a few others. A lot of the big names that come out of college turn out to be bust. If they ever figure out a way to judge the size of a guys guts, spirit and heart, you will see a lot of difference than what gets drafted these days. Physical statistics don’t tell the whole story anymore than the wunderlik (?) test given to each possible draftee indicates. About all it shows, is you are almost as smart as a 5th grader most of the time.
Goompematok
April 29th, 2012
11:12 am
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a man of honor
April 29th, 2012
11:12 am
According to ESPN, LSU and Georgia each have 45 players in NFL. LSU has 2 National Championships in last 10 years and 45 players in NFL. Georgia, has 45 players and a bunch of participation ribbons from mid and lower tier bowls. Big difference. 1980 was such a long time ago.
atlxman
April 29th, 2012
11:13 am
caleb didnt make UGA look bad..he made himself and parents look bad. hope he can turn it around and grow up one day..
Hairy Dawg
April 29th, 2012
11:16 am
The drafts proof how Dawgs got that talents that NFL wants. They don’t want players from that gimmickey bug offense. And that is why good players should sign with Dawgs so we can stockpile the talent with SEC speed to get them to NFL. We just need stop Bammer from stealing our players from GA. And then we have more drafts than any team which helps to reload by signing more talent.
TigerinGA
April 29th, 2012
11:17 am
Redemption? It actually proves that UGA had great athletes, but the coaches couldn’t do anything with them! Nothing redeeming about that in my opinion.
atlxman
April 29th, 2012
11:17 am
man of honor..lsu also had some really good luck..uga won its sec championships before the sec champion had received an automatic spot in the national title game…the next one UGA wins they will get their National title….playing in the sec prepares whoever the sec champ is, for the national title game.
atlxman
April 29th, 2012
11:20 am
coaches are doing their part…how many of the former uga players were jrs when they got drafted? if even half of them stayed the full 4yrs uga would even have a better record and a few more sec titles..
coaches are coaching them up..look at david green..drafted in the 3rd rd and kellen moore goes undrafted,,,david pollack….same thing…
g is a stupid letter
April 29th, 2012
11:20 am
@atlxman
they don’t mention players parents in stories..they do mention georgia. own it.
atlxman
April 29th, 2012
11:24 am
everyone has parents so they dont have to mention his parents names …uga has nothing to be ashamed about. they tried to help this guy out plenty of times.
Needacoach
April 29th, 2012
11:29 am
Watch this clip and you will see why we still have a very long way to go…
http://secondemand.com/Theater/TabId/2117/gallery.aspx?ProductID=f606b689-87e6-418a-a440-fb86448ac11a
g is a stupid letter
April 29th, 2012
11:30 am
yeah, yeah, whatever. own it dawgs.
Ghost
April 29th, 2012
11:38 am
@g , Jevarious Crittendon, glas houses throwing stones.
move along, nothing to see here
April 29th, 2012
11:39 am
Congrats to all the dawgs in the draft. And let’s not forget Caleb for representing UGA to the entire nation in the manner to which all of us in the south are accustomed. Once a dawg, always a dawg. Fleas and all.
g is a stupid letter
April 29th, 2012
11:49 am
Ghost, I could care less about Tech..by the way, ghost starts with the letter “G”…coincidence…I think not…it is a stupid letter..
DawgByte
April 29th, 2012
12:05 pm
Orson Charles could have improved his draft stock if he would have stayed his senior season and stayed out of jail.
TampaGator
April 29th, 2012
12:06 pm
Didn’t Caleb King go to a private Christian High School in Atlanta? How did that work out?
TampaGator
April 29th, 2012
12:07 pm
Dawgbyte…..
Charles wanted to stay out of jail and that is why he left Georgia early
(just joshing now…..sort of).
TampaGator
April 29th, 2012
12:12 pm
I love some of this stuff…..
My Dawg fleas (King) are less offensive than your Jacklet droppings (Crittenton).
NEWS FLASH: Neither school is responsible for the criminal actions of these two complete morons.
TampaGator
April 29th, 2012
12:21 pm
My college team has a better program than your college team’s program because it has more players in the NFL right now.
Really?
Rampdawg
April 29th, 2012
12:24 pm
To all techmite lovers. (AJC) Caleb King a former player UGA sent packing gets a headline for assault in Minnesota.
A Techmite starter assaults 2 Tech fratboys with criminal damage to property and the AJC gives it small type 2nd page story.
It should have made front page, given a Techmite had actually beat someone, even if it was a couple of pencil neck frat boys.
RedandBlackDAWG
April 29th, 2012
12:45 pm
g is a stupid letter
April 29th, 2012
11:49 am
Ghost, I could care less about Tech..by the way, ghost starts with the letter “G”…coincidence…I think not…it is a stupid letter..
Try eating, sleeping and a few other required but pleasurable and mandatory things in life without it. I think, you are about the only thing that is stupid with your childish screen name, not to mention your reasoning, for your statement.
Hairy Dawg
April 29th, 2012
12:53 pm
The biggest problem here is the Falcons didn’t signing Jones, Charles and Boynkins. The could a got Jones from SEC instead of that Wisky broken down wimp that play in Big 10 loser confrence. The SEC has proofed in title game that Big 10 don’t play real football. And yet the Falcons wate a draft pick on clowney Konz over Jones. Then we should drafted Orson to cause we needs replacement TE. But no they skips him and PLAY MAKER boynkins also.
But still notice no techmites in discussions and no Gaytors neither.
Hairy Dawg
April 29th, 2012
12:55 pm
They could
waste
Hairy Dawg
April 29th, 2012
12:59 pm
The biggest problem here is the Falcons didn’t signing Jones, Charles and Boynkins. They could a got Jones from SEC instead of that Wisky broken down wimp that play in Big 10 loser confrence. The SEC has proofed in title game that Big 10 don’t play real football. And yet the Falcons waste a draft pick on clowney Konz over Jones. Then we should drafted Orson to cause we needs replacement TE. But no they skips him and PLAY MAKER boynkins also.
But still notice no techmites in discussions and no Gaytors neither.
Terry
April 29th, 2012
1:16 pm
TampaGator, If I was a High School football player wanting a chance at the NFL, I would rather go to a college that has more players drafted.
College—-players–Drafted
Bama——–19———–8
UGA———-12———-7
SC————-14———-6
LSU———-15———–5
Arkansas—10———-4
Miss St——13———3
Florida——–9———-2
Vandy——–9———–2
Kentucky—12———2
Miss———–7———-1
TN————–7———-1
Auburn——11———-1
GT————-6———–1
Terry
April 29th, 2012
1:29 pm
Since Coach Richt has been at UGA he has never had under 4 players drafted.
FRED
April 29th, 2012
2:13 pm
Charles made a big mistake coming out this year it will come out costing him millions. It is so noticable the difference between our draftees and the top tier of the SEC we are so far behind with this coach and his staff.
g is a stupid letter
April 29th, 2012
2:31 pm
looks like the uga baseball ream is well on it’s way to getting swept in baton rouge…can’t even catch a pop-up in the infield…so typical..espn2 to watch the carnage…