A year after proudly sending two first-round picks to the NFL, Georgia Tech had the leanest of draft weekends.
Former Tech B-back Anthony Allen waited seven rounds to be selected by the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, and he was the lucky one. Allen was the only Yellow Jacket chosen, narrowly avoiding the school’s first draft shutout since 2005.
“One of the longer days of my life, where you’re just sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting, but nothing happens,” former Tech cornerback Mario Butler said.
Besides Butler, other Tech hopefuls left waiting by the phone as the 254-player draft ended early Saturday evening included linebacker Brad Jefferson, safeties Mario Edwards and Jerrard Tarrant, cornerback Dominique Reese, quarterback Joshua Nesbitt and offensive tackle Nick Claytor. Most were pegged as mid-to-late-round picks at best before the draft. Tarrant and Claytor both skipped their senior seasons to enter the draft.
Allen is the first player to be drafted who came to Tech following the hire of coach Paul Johnson. Allen transferred to Tech in 2008 from Louisville to play in Johnson’s spread-option offense. He’s also the third Tech running back taken in the draft since 2008.
There were 224 players from 96 schools, ranging from Auburn to Slippery Rock, Ohio State to Abilene Christian, who were taken before the Ravens chose Allen, the 26th running back selected.
“Long but best wait ever,” Allen wrote on Twitter.
Allen was the Ravens’ only drafted running back. While starter Ray Rice’s position is established, backup Willis McGahee reportedly may be released because of his salary. The three other running backs on the roster have a total of 11 NFL carries.
While not the draft group that Tech produced last year — first-rounders Derrick Morgan and Demaryius Thomas, third-rounder Morgan Burnett and sixth-rounder Jonathan Dwyer — all of the Jackets who were draft-eligible contributed to Tech’s 2009 ACC championship. Allen was a first-team All-ACC running back in 2010.
The draft, of course, is hardly the final verdict on a player’s career. According to ESPN, 23 players in last season’s Pro Bowl weren’t drafted, including Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes. While typically undrafted players are snatched up in the hours following the draft, players this year will have to wait until the lockout ends to hook up with a team.
Said Butler, “You just have to stay positive and think everything happens for a reason.”
