Early exit strategy doesn’t pay off for Oklahoma juniors
The NFL draft was not kind to area players from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.
Three Sooners - Curtis Lofton, Malcolm Kelly and Reggie Smith - left school one year early with hope they would be taken in the first round.
Lofton and Kelly dropped to the second round while Smith was taken in the third round.
Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith went undrafted but has signed a free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
OSU had a goose egg as Adarius Bowman, Dantrell Savage, Rodrick Johnson, Donovan Woods and others did not get drafted. Bowman, once considered the best wideout in the Big 12 Conference a certain first-round pick, scared away NFL teams with off-the-field legal problems.
Good news came for TU linebacker Chris Chamberlain, taken by St. Louis in the seventh round (No. 228 overall), and OU running back Allen Patrick, drafted by Baltimore also in the seventh round (No. 240).
The Atlanta Falcons selected Lofton, the Big 12 defensive player of the year, as the sixth pick in the second round (37th overall).
Lofton became the 33rd OU player drafted during Bob Stoops’ nine seasons at Oklahoma. He is the sixth underclassmen in that group. Three of those early departures were taken in the first round — DB Roy Williams by Dallas in the 2002, Tommie Harris by Chicago in 2004 and Adrian Peterson by Minnesota in 2007.
“Curtis was a catalyst for our defense and a part of the first back-to-back championships in Big 12 history,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “He has outstanding instincts and an explosiveness that allows him to close quickly. We are excited for Curtis and his family and look forward to following his progress on the professional level.”
This marks the fifth consecutive year that an Oklahoma linebacker has been drafted. Last year, Rufus Alexander was taken in the sixth round by Minnesota.
As the 37th pick overall, Lofton was drafted in precisely the same position as Teddy Lehman in 2004. Lehman, who won the Butkus Award, went to the Detroit Lions. That was the last time that a Sooner linebacker was drafted as high as the second round.
Lofton is the first Oklahoma player drafted by Atlanta since 1992 when defensive back Terry Ray was selected by the Falcons in the sixth round.
A month ago, Kelly seemed to be a lock for a Top 10 pick in the first round. Slow times in the 40-yard-dash in front of NFL scouts may have cost him millions.
The Washington Redskins picked Kelly as the 20th pick in the second round (51st overall).
“Malcolm made a lot of big plays for us and had a number of difficult catches,” said Stoops. “He’s a big receiver with great hands and I believe he will adapt well to the NFL. He’s another in the line of receivers that have been drafted from our program recently and we’re very proud of that fact. And we’re proud of Malcolm. He knows that we send along our best wishes for his continued success.”
Kelly is the first Sooner drafted by Washington since 1998 when tight end Stephen Alexander was the 2nd round choice.
Kelly is the fifth Oklahoma receiver to be drafted since Bob Stoops became the Sooners’ coach. The others were Travis Wilson, Mark Clayton, Brandon Jones and Mark Bradley. The most recent of those was Wilson, who went to Cleveland in the third round of the 2006 draft.
Kelly is the 34th OU player taken in the draft since Stoops became the head coach. He is the 16th to go in the first or second round.
The San Francisco 49ers selected Reggie Smith as the 12th pick in the third round (75th overall).
“We really liked Reggie’s versatility,” Stoops said. “He played both safety and corner for us, and he was a valuable asset on special teams. He has a knack for the big play, too, which speaks to his instincts. I would imagine that Reggie and his family are very excited today as we are to watch him continue his career.”_ _
Smith is the first Oklahoma player drafted by San Francisco since Corey Mayfield, a defensive end, was taken in the 10th round of the 1992 draft.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Patrick as the 33rd pick in the seventh round (240th overall pick).
“I have a lot of respect for Allen Patrick because of the adversity he fought through and a lot of appreciation for what he meant to our program,” Stoops said. “His toughness and attitude set a tremendous example for others on our team to follow. As both a running back and a special teams player he made contributions, but it was the way that he approached the game that always impressed me the most. I think he’s got a great chance to make the team and we will be rooting for him to do just that.”
Baltimore has drafted an Oklahoma player in three of the last four years. Other Sooners drafted by the Ravens include Chris Chester (2006), Mark Clayton (2005), Dan Cody (2005), Trent Smith (2003) and Sammy Williams (1998).
Patrick is the fifth running back drafted out of Oklahoma since Bob Stoops became the head coach. Others included Adrian Peterson (Minnesota, 2007), J.D. Runnels (Chicago, 2006), Quentin Griffin (Denver, 2003) and De’Mond Parker (Green Bay, 1999).
Chamberlain was picked by the St. Louis Rams as the 228th pick of the NFL draft.
Chamberlain (6-2, 225) was a three-year starter for the Golden Hurricane. He played in 50 career games and had 40 starts. In 2007, Chamberlain led the Hurricane in tackles while setting a school record with 165 stops. His 11.8 average ranked second in Conference USA and was fifth in the nation. He was also third in NCAA statistics with 101 solo tackles last season.
Chamberlain was a first-team all-Conference USA selection as well this past season.
In a 63-7 victory over Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl, Chamberlain had 17 tackles. 5.5 stops for minus-26 yards and forced one fumble while earning Defensive Player of the Game honors.
He had double-figure tackles in 10 games in 2007 and 11 for his career. Chamberlain ended his collegiate career ranked fifth on the school’s all-time tackles chart with 352 tackles and also had 32.5 stops for minus-155 yards, six forced fumbles and five interceptions.