How bad do they want it?
By: Will Vandervort
“I watched (the draft) all the way through to the mid-fourth round and then I decided to turn it off and took a nap,” Hamlin said to the Cowboys’ official Web site Sunday evening. “I just went around and tried to do something to distract myself.”
Hamlin had to distract himself until late in the fifth round, when the Dallas Cowboys drafted him with the 30th selection in the fifth round and 166th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.
It was that kind of day for the former Clemson players as no Tiger was drafted until defensive tackle Dorell Scott went third in the fourth round Sunday and was 103 overall. Then late in the fifth round safety Chris Clemons went one spot ahead of Hamlin at 165 to the Miami Dolphins.
“I was nervous waiting on the phone to ring,” Clemons told reporters. “It got frustrating a little bit, but I just kept my head up and stayed in there.”
James Davis hung in there too. The Tigers second all-time leading rusher did not get drafted until the sixth round, when the Cleveland Browns selected him No. 22 in the round and 195th overall. It surprised him even more to learn that he was the last player and the only offensive player selected from a team that eight months earlier was considered one of the top offensive units in college football.
But Clemson’s involvement in the 2009 Draft was more than likely a result of the 2008 season — a year that had so much hope and promise that it still continues to haunt members of the team four months after its conclusion.
Aaron Kelly and Cullen Harper, who were projected to be drafted somewhere in the fifth or sixth rounds Sunday, never heard their names called out. Kelly later signed a free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, the only team he worked out for, while Harper has not announced his plans.
Two other Tigers signed free agent contracts. Defensive tackle Rashaad Jackson will try to make it with the San Diego Chargers, while Tyler Grisham hopes he can become a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers next fall.
Overall, it wasn’t the kind of draft Clemson fans and some of the so-called experts envisioned when the Tigers opened the 2008 football season as the No. 9 ranked team. But when you don’t meet expectations as a team, then in most cases the individual usually suffers the most when it’s time to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.
The good news is four guys did hear their named called ultimately and now they will have a shot — though there’s a hard road ahead — to fulfill their dreams of being NFL players. I wish all four players — guys I have had the pleasure to get to know over the last four years — the best as well as those who have and will sign free agent contracts.
All of them are going to get the opportunity to live out their dreams. Now that the opportunity is here, how bad do they want it?
Sunday became such a long wait for former Clemson safety Michael Hamlin — he decided he was going to take a nap to kill the time.
“I watched (the draft) all the way through to the mid-fourth round and then I decided to turn it off and took a nap,” Hamlin said to the Cowboys’ official Web site Sunday evening. “I just went around and tried to do something to distract myself.”
Hamlin had to distract himself until late in the fifth round, when the Dallas Cowboys drafted him with the 30th selection in the fifth round and 166th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.
It was that kind of day for the former Clemson players as no Tiger was drafted until defensive tackle Dorell Scott went third in the fourth round Sunday and was 103 overall. Then late in the fifth round safety Chris Clemons went one spot ahead of Hamlin at 165 to the Miami Dolphins.
“I was nervous waiting on the phone to ring,” Clemons told reporters. “It got frustrating a little bit, but I just kept my head up and stayed in there.”
James Davis hung in there too. The Tigers second all-time leading rusher did not get drafted until the sixth round, when the Cleveland Browns selected him No. 22 in the round and 195th overall. It surprised him even more to learn that he was the last player and the only offensive player selected from a team that eight months earlier was considered one of the top offensive units in college football.
But Clemson’s involvement in the 2009 Draft was more than likely a result of the 2008 season — a year that had so much hope and promise that it still continues to haunt members of the team four months after its conclusion.
Aaron Kelly and Cullen Harper, who were projected to be drafted somewhere in the fifth or sixth rounds Sunday, never heard their names called out. Kelly later signed a free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, the only team he worked out for, while Harper has not announced his plans.
Two other Tigers signed free agent contracts. Defensive tackle Rashaad Jackson will try to make it with the San Diego Chargers, while Tyler Grisham hopes he can become a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers next fall.
Overall, it wasn’t the kind of draft Clemson fans and some of the so-called experts envisioned when the Tigers opened the 2008 football season as the No. 9 ranked team. But when you don’t meet expectations as a team, then in most cases the individual usually suffers the most when it’s time to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.
The good news is four guys did hear their named called ultimately and now they will have a shot — though there’s a hard road ahead — to fulfill their dreams of being NFL players. I wish all four players — guys I have had the pleasure to get to know over the last four years — the best as well as those who have and will sign free agent contracts.
All of them are going to get the opportunity to live out their dreams. Now that the opportunity is here, how bad do they want it?
posted by Roy Philpott @ 10:07 AM
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