Clemson Draft Notes |
Clemson Draft Summary
Player Pos Team Pick Rd
*Clemson had five players taken in the NFL draft this year, its high total for a draft since six Tigers were taken in the 1999 draft.
Four of the five have already graduated from Clemson.
*Each of Clemson's first three draft selections of 2007 were chosen by the same three teams who drafted Clemson players in 2006. And, each of the 2006 draft choices made their respective teams last year so each Clemson 2007 rookie will have a former teammate on the field when they report to camp. Gaines Adams was taken by the Tamp Bay Bucs with the fourth selection of the entire draft this year and the Bucs drafted Charles Bennett in the seventh round in 2006. Bennett made the Bucs roster last year. Anthony Waters was taken in the third round by the San Diego Chargers, the same team that drafted Charlie Whitehurst in the sixth round in 2006. Whitehurst was the third team quarterback in San Diego last year. Dustin Fry was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round this year, the same team that drafted Tye Hill in the first round in 2006. Hill played in all
16 games for the Rams last year and had three interceptions.
*Chansi Stuckey was taken in the seventh round by the New York Jets.
While the Jets did not take a Clemson player in 2006, they did select Justin Miller in the second round in 2004. Miller was a Pro Bowl kick returner and starting cornerback in 2006 with the Jets.
Stuckey and Miller combined on a punt return for a touchdown against Wake Forest in the season opener of 2004 when Stuckey threw the key block on the sideline to spring Miller loose for a 69-yard touchdown in Clemson's 37-30 win in overtime.
*Chansi Stuckey was chosen in the seventh round by the New York Jets.
He was the second Clemson player taken by the Jets in the last three years (Justin Miller 2005 draft). The Jets did not take a Clemson player between 1979-2004.
*Stuckey and Miller practiced against each other during the 2004 season as Miller was a starting cornerback and Stuckey was a starting wide receiver. Stuckey played quarterback in 2002, as a first-year freshman and quarterback in 2003.
*With Stuckey's selection in the seventh round, Clemson has now had four wide receivers drafted since Tommy Bowden became the head coach in 1999. Clemson did not have a wide receiver drafted in the eight years prior to Bowden's arrival. The other Clemson receivers drafted since Bowden became head coach are Rod Gardner (2001, Washington), Derrick Hamilton (2004, San Francisco) and Airese Currie (2005, Chicago).
*Anthony Waters was taken with the 96th pick of the 2007 draft by the San Diego Chargers. That was good news for Waters, who played just one game in 2006 before suffering a torn ACL in the season opener against Florida Atlantic. Twenty-six of the last 27 Clemson players drafted within the top 100 selections (since 1989), have gone on to make an NFL roster and play in an NFL game. The only top 100 draft pick from Clemson who has not played in an NFL game since 1989 is Donnell Washington, who was injured most of the 2004 and 2005 seasons. (He was on the active roster with Green Bay in 2005, but never appeared in a game.). Washington turned pro after his junior year, 2003.
*Dustin Fry was Clemson's third player chosen in the draft as he was a fifth-round pick of the St. Louis Rams. Fry is the first Clemson center drafted since Curtis Whitley was a fifth-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1992.
*C.J. Gaddis, who turned pro after his junior season, was a fifth-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles. He will be in the same defensive secondary as former Clemson All-American and six-time Pro Bowl selection Brian Dawkins. In fact, Gaddis is the first player Philadelphia has drafted from Clemson since Dawkins was a second-round pick (61st overall) in 1995.
*Gaddis is the 15th Clemson player to enter the NFL draft with eligibility remaining and he is the 13th to be selected. Ronald Williams (1992) and Corey Hulsey (1998) are the only two Clemson underclassmen to turn pro and fail to be selected. Hulsey still made it in the NFL and was a member of the Oakland Raiders in 2006.
Williams played 10 years in the CFL.
*Of the previous 14 Clemson players to turn pro with eligibility remaining, 12 of them have gone on to play in an NFL game. The only players who did not were Ronald Williams, who played his entire 10-year career in the CFL, and Donnell Washington, who was injured in
2004 and 2005. He was not on an NFL roster in 2006.
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