10 C-USA Players Drafted to NFL

Ten Conference USA players were taken in the 2012 National Football League Draft, which concluded on Saturday evening. Memphis DT Dontari Poe was the first player selected, going to the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round. Seven C-USA schools had at least one player chosen, led by SMU, which had four players picked.

Poe is the first-ever defensive lineman for Memphis to be selected in the first round, and his selection at No. 11 overall marks the earliest that a Conference USA player has ever been selected.
Poe participated in the NFL Combine and put up impressive numbers, including a combine-leading 44 reps in the bench press set at 225 pounds and turned in a 40 time of 4.98 seconds. In 2011 as a redshirt-junior, Poe was a second teamer on the All-Conference USA Team and was an honorable mention All-America pick by Pro Football Weekly. He tallied 33 tackles, including 18 solo stops, and was third on the team in TFL with eight for minus 26 yards in 2011. Poe also posted a sack, three pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and one forced fumble throughout the campaign.
Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry, the 2011 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, was selected in the second round (59th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles. He is the highest Marshall player selected since wide receiver Darius Watts was taken 54th overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2004 NFL Draft.
The Neptune, N.J. native was selected to six All-America teams and was in the running for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (nation's best defensive player), the Chuck Bednarik (nation's best defensive player) and Rotary Lombardi Awards (nation's best lineman). Curry tied for second nationally with seven forced fumbles, tied for third with 22 tackles for loss and tied for sixth with 11 sacks. He finished his Herd career with 49 tackles for loss (seventh in MU history) and 26.5 sacks (fourth all-time)
UCF cornerback Josh Robinson was taken in the third round (No. 66 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings, marking the sixth consecutive year that the Knights have had at least one player chosen in the NFL Draft.


Recording the fastest 40-yard dash of any athlete to compete in the NFL Combine this spring, Robinson officially clocked in with a time of 4.33 seconds. The 5-foot-10, 199-pound Robinson also tied for first in the broad jump, second in the 3-cone drill, fourth in the 20-yard shuttle and 14th in the vertical jump (second among defensive backs). A member of the C-USA All-Freshman Team and the All-C-USA Second Team in 2009, Robinson also was voted onto the league's first team as a sophomore and as a junior. In 38-career games for the Knights, he amassed 176 tackles and ranked second in UCF history with 36 pass break-ups and fifth with 10 interceptions. SMU guard Josh LeRibeus was selected by the Washington Redskins with the eighth pick of the third round (71st overall), LeRibeus becomes the highest SMU NFL pick since 1987, when Ron Morris and Jerry Ball were selected the second and third rounds of the Draft, respectively.
LeRibeus competed in 36 games, making 28 starts at left guard during his SMU career. During his sophomore and senior years, the Richardson, Texas, native started every game for an offense that eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark and scored 350-plus points in both seasons.
Southern Miss offensive tackle Lamar Holmes was chosen in the third round by the Atlanta Falcons. Holmes, from Gastonia, N.C., was a two-year starter for the Golden Eagles at tackle and his selection is the highest pick for a Golden Eagle in the draft since wide receiver Todd Pinkston was taken in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2000.
This past season, Holmes started 14 games at left tackle for the Golden Eagles and recorded 98 knockdown blocks, including a season-high 16 in the season opener against Louisiana Tech. He graded out at 71 percent or better in every game and above 82 percent in five different contests.
SMU produced three of the five players taken on the final day of the draft, as Kelvin Beachum, Richard Crawford and Taylor Thompson were each taken. Thompson was chosen by the Tennessee Titans with the 10th pick of the fifth round (145th overall), Crawford was selected by the Washington Redskins with the sixth pick of the seventh round (213th overall) and Beachum was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 41st pick of the seventh round (248th overall). The four total selections are the most for SMU since 1985, when Reggie Phillips, Dale Hellestrae, Ron Anderson and Chris Jackson were chosen.
Beachum was a four-year starter at left tackle for one of the country's most prolific passing offenses. SMU's offense amassed more than 5,000 yards of total offense during each of Beachum's final three seasons in which he never missed a start. The Mexia, Texas native was a three-time All-Conference USA selection, earning first team honors during his final two years as a Mustang. As a senior, Beachum was selected to both the Lombard Award and Outland Award watch lists.
Crawford nabbed six interceptions during his two seasons in the Mustang defensive backfield while recording 101 tackles. The 2011 First Team All-Conference USA selection was a punt return specialist for SMU, finishing 14th in the country this year with an average of 11.8 yards a return. Against UCF, the Oceanside, Calif., native tied the SMU record for the longest punt return with a 92-yard touchdown. Crawford totaled 141 return yards for the game which ranked second in SMU history.
During his four years as a Mustang, Thompson competed in 49 games, finishing his career with 43 straight starts at defensive end. The Prosper, Texas, native amassed 139 tackles, including 22.5 for loss, to go along with his 18 sacks. The three-time All-Conference USA selection and two-time first-team player had a team-high eight sacks during his final season to go with his six forced fumbles which was second in the conference. Prior to the season, Thompson was selected to the Lombardi Award, Nagurski Award and Pony Express Award watch lists.
UAB offensive tackle Matt McCants, who started as a freshman and went on to become a two-time, first-team All-Conference USA performer, was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round. The Super Bowl champion Giants made the Blazer offensive tackle the 31st selection in the sixth round and the 201st player chosen overall.
McCants, a native of Mobile, Ala., made 42 career starts at offensive tackle for UAB, including seven as a true freshman in 2007. He becomes the first offensive lineman in UAB history chosen in the NFL draft. The 6-6, 308-pound McCants was a first-team selection on the Coaches' all-conference squad as a both a junior and senior in 2010 and 2011.
Rice defensive end Scott Solomon was grabbed by the Tennessee Titans with the fourth pick in the seventh round. Solomon bounced back from a broken foot that held him out of all of the 2010 season to post career highs in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (13.5) while tying the school career record with 24 sacks and earning second team All C-USA honors. He had at least one TFL in eight of his last nine games and closed the season ranked among the top five active players in sacks, solo sacks, tackles for loss and solo tackles for loss. He was one of 19 defensive ends who were named to the final Ted Hendricks Award Watch List.

CONFERENCE USA'S 2012 NFL DRAFTEES

Round  No. (Overall) Player Pos. C-USA School NFL Team
First 11 (11)         Dontari Poe DT Memphis         Kansas City Chiefs
Second 27 (59)         Vinny Curry DE Marshall Philadelphia Eagles
Third 3 (66)         Josh Robinson  DB UCF         Minnesota Vikings
Third 8 (71)         Josh LeRibeus OG SMU         Washington Redskins
Third 28 (91)         Lamar Holmes OT Southern Miss Atlanta Falcons
Fifth 10 (145) Taylor Thompson TE SMU         Tennessee Titans
Sixth 31 (201) Matt McCants OT UAB         New York Giants
Seventh 4 (212)         Scott Solomon DE Rice         Tennessee Titans
Seventh 6 (214)         Richard Crawford DB SMU         Washington Redskins
Seventh 41 (248) Kelvin Beachum G SMU         Pittsburgh Steelers