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Linebacker Shawn Crable is pleased to be chosen by New England Patriots
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, Apr 28, 2008
CLEVELAND: Some area football players had reason to celebrate Sunday as they were drafted into the NFL.
Players from Columbus to Ann Arbor, Mich., and points in between had their names called during the second day of the annual talent derby known as the NFL Draft.
The most prominent selection came when the New England Patriots injected some youth into an aging linebacker corps that includes Junior Seau and Teddy Bruschi by drafting Massillon native Shawn Crable of Michigan in the third round with the 78th overall pick.
''I've been jumping up and down celebrating,'' said Ella Kirkland, Crable's foster mother. ''We expected him to go high; mothers always do.''
An outside linebacker, Crable had 37 tackles and 71/2 sacks and earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Conference's second team. He made 148 tackles (101 solo), 16 sacks and stands at 10th on Michigan's all-time list for tackles in 46 games, 20 of which he started. Playing for the Patriots will represent a change for him because he played in a 4-3 defense scheme during his college career.
''I played a lot of outside linebacker at Michigan,'' he said. ''I'm hoping I can just get with the coaches, watch a couple of the veterans and learn from them.''
The second day evolved into a waiting game for former Ohio State starting right tackle and Massillon native Kirk Barton. Projected as a guard in the NFL, Barton, 6-5 and 310 pounds, had to wait until the 40th selection of the seventh round (the 247th pick overall) before being chosen by the Chicago Bears.
''I'm tired. It's been a long day, but it's over,'' he said. ''Toward the end, I tried not to watch.''
Barton came close to being this draft's Mr. Irrelevant, the last player taken in the draft. It's not a title that he wanted. ''You want to get picked,'' he said.
Although he spoke with the Browns about coming in as an undrafted free agent (they would have been in his top two teams), he was pleased where he landed.
The Bears ''are a tough team. They're a cold-weather team that plays smash-mouth football,'' he said. ''It'll be a good fit.''
Fans of the University of Akron football team know cornerback Reggie Corner very well. The player with the apropos name received his phone call from the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round. ''It was a good feeling, tremendous feeling,'' Corner said. ''I'm just grateful to have an opportunity to play football.''
The Canton native intercepted seven passes in his senior season with the Zips and sits at the second spot on the school's all-time interceptions list with 15. He attended Canton McKinley, where he starred as a wide receiver.
''To me, there was no question that he was a pretty good player,'' Bills scout David G. Smith said of Corner. ''You can't find many things wrong with him. He's more of a finesse guy taking on lead blockers and stuff like that because he's not real big, but he doesn't back off.''
Coming from Canton, he is well aware of what it means to be selected to play football in the NFL.
''The majority of people where I come from who play don't get to fulfill that [dream],'' he said. ''It's definitely a relief that I get to.''
Not to be outdone, Kent State also had a defensive back chosen. The Denver Broncos took Jack Williams, a 5-9, 186-pound defensive back. He had 98 tackles (70 solo), three interceptions and defended eight others during his senior season. He impressed pro scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine when he ran a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash. ''I don't know too much about their [defensive backs], but I know they have my style of play as far as the secondary,'' Williams said during a news conference with the Denver media. ''I'm ready to go.''
He missed parts of two games in his senior season with injuries and thought that it might have caused a few teams to look at other options. ''I'm not sure how much it affected my draft stock, but I know it probably shied teams away with my performance from my senior year,'' he said. ''I think what saved me was how well I played my junior year.''
The Indianapolis Colts drafted Pierre Garcon, a wide receiver from Mount Union in the sixth round. OSU's Larry Grant, a native of Northern California also heard his name called by his hometown San Francisco 49ers.
A couple of prominent players didn't figure in the process; the Zips' Jabari Arthur, a wide receiver, went undrafted as did Antonio Reynolds from Buchtel, who played defensive end for Tennessee.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
CLEVELAND: Some area football players had reason to celebrate Sunday as they were drafted into the NFL.
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