Hurricanes shut out of NFL Draft's first round for third straight year

For the third consecutive year, the University of Miami was shut out in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Several Hurricanes were predicted to be potential first-rounders over the past few months, but 32 picks were made Thursday night without a UM player hearing his name called.

The Hurricanes hadn't gone three consecutive years without at least one player going in the opening round since a five-year run from 1968-72.
Safety Kenny Phillips was the last Miami alum to be drafted in the first round; 31st overall by the New York Giants in the 2008 draft.

UM dominated the draft from 2000-07 with 59 players chosen, including 25 first-round picks. In 2004, Miami produced an NFL Draft-record six No. 1 picks and still owns the mark for first-rounders in 14 consecutive years.

Miami figures to make a lot more noise in the draft beginning with Friday's second and third rounds. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projects five Hurricanes going in the second round alone.

The first UM player likely to be selected is cornerback Brandon Harris, an All-ACC cornerback each of the past two years who left school after his junior season to enter the draft. Harris was seen as a probable first-round pick early in the process but saw his stock drop after a good, not great, performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

After Harris, thinks are more iffy. Most projections have receiver Leonard Hankerson going next. Hankerson overcame a habit of dropping passes early in his career to set a UM single-season record with 1,132 receiving yards in 2010.

Also expected to be selected Friday is defensive lineman Allen Bailey. The 6-foot-4, 285-pounder was once projected as a certain first-round pick but an underwhelming senior season and a question of what position he will play as a professional caused him to drop.

The biggest surprise could be cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke. Losing his starting job as a senior, he never seemed to fulfill his potential, but he dazzled scouts after running a 4.26-second, 40-yard-dash at the combine, the third-fastest time in the event's history. In his last mock draft, Kiper had Van Dyke drafted in the second round by Seattle with the 57th overall pick.

Offensive tackle Orlando Franklin, from Atlantic High, is also expected to be chosen no later than early in the third round. Linebacker Colin McCarthy is likely to hear his name called late in the second round or somewhere in the third, according to analysts.

Tailbacks Graig Cooper and Damien Berry are possibilities to be drafted on Saturday when rounds 4-7 are held. If all eight UM players are selected, it would match the Hurricanes' total production of draft picks in the past three years.



(palmbeachpost.com)