Five more Virginia Tech players were selected on Sunday in rounds three through seven of the 2008 NFL Draft. They join the three Hokies who were taken on Saturdy, bringing Tech’s total number of drafted players to eight. That’s tied for second for most Tech players taken in the draft. The 2006 NFL Draft saw nine Hokies selected.
It didn’t take long on Sunday for the first Hokie to come off the board. Defensive end Chris Ellis went to the Buffalo Bills in the third round, with the 72nd overall selection. That’s about where Ellis was projected heading into this weekend’s draft.
Linebacker Xavier Adibi had to wait a little longer than expected to hear his name called. He was taken by the Houston Texas in the fourth round, with the 118th overall pick. Most analysts expected him to go somewhere in the third round. Adibi will join Duane Brown in Houston. Brown was taken in the first round by the Texans on Saturday.
The next player off the board was defensive tackle Carlton Powell . Powell will join Eddie Royal in Denver, as the Broncos took him in the fifth round with the 148th overall pick. That’s about where draft analysts had Powell pegged.
And finally, two Tech receivers went in the later rounds. Josh Morgan went to the San Francisco 49ers with the 174th overall pick in the sixth round, and Justin Harper is now a Baltimore Raven with the 215th selection in the seventh round.
Virginia Tech had eight players chosen in the draft. That ranks second nationally behind just USC. The Trojans had 10 players selected. LSU was close behind the Hokies with seven selections.
The notable exception from Tech’s list of draftees is linebacker Vince Hall, arguably the best linebacker in school history. Hall was undrafted because of his size, as well as limitations in workouts thanks to recent injuries. He had a wrist injury that caused him to miss four games during the season, and also hurt his knee in a jet skiing accident in Miami before the Orange Bowl.
D.J. Parker and Barry Booker also had a shot to be drafted, but like Hall, they’ll have to settle for free agent contracts.
Tech Sideline is Presented By: