If all the mock drafts circulating in the sports stratosphere were to come to fruition, Jermon Bushrod will become the highest-drafted player in Towson football history.
According to NFL Draft guru ? and Baltimore native ? Mel Kiper Jr., Bushrod, 22, could go in the third round of this weekend?s draft.
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“He said, ?Gordy, don?t be surprised if he goes third [round],?” said Towson coach Gordy Combs, who spoke with Kiper while the ESPN analyst was taping his pre-draft segments at Towson?s Unitas Stadium. “He said he?s definitely going by the fourth round.”
Should he go in the fourth, he would be the highest drafted player in Towson history ? with running backs Dave Meggett (1989) and Tony Vinson (1994) having fifth round selections.
“It?ll be a great accomplishment if it does happen,” Bushrod said. “My goal is to get drafted and it would be great. It?ll help motivate other kids that have dreams and aspirations to go to the NFL. You don?t have to go to an ACC or Big Ten school to play football professionally.”
Combs said that momentum began to build throughout the 2006 season, and knew that Bushrod?s prospects would rise once teams sent a second scout to campus. And apparently, Bushrod?s status has been rising even faster in the past few weeks.
“He may even go a little better than [Kiper?s late third round projection],” said Bushrod?s agent, Tony Agnone, of Hunt Valley-based Eastern Athletic Services. “I wouldn?t have said that a month ago.”
Bushrod, 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds, ran a 4.9 second 40-yard dash in his pro day work out last month, and since then, has been hearing from a number of NFL teams. He?s interviewed with a dozen of them, including the Ravens.
He understands the draft, calling it a “chess game,” anddoesn?t want to get his hopes up ? recalling fourth-round prospects that have gone undrafted all together.
But Agnone says “its hard to find a good a tackle,” and Bushrod provides a solid base.
“And now,” Agnone said, “Teams are starting to realize that this guy is going to have a long future.”
