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Monday, April 30, 2012

8 MAC Players Drafted to NFL

The Mid-American Conference former student athletes selected in the NFL Draft.


2012 NFL Draft - MAC Players Selected:
-3rd Round, 76th overall, OL Brandon Brooks (Miami), Houston Texans
-3rd Round, 84th overall, RB Bernard Pierce (Temple), Baltimore Ravens
-4th Round, 111th overall, TE Evan Rodriquez (Temple), Chicago Bears
-5th Round, 138th overall, LB Tahir Whitehead (Temple), Detroit Lions
-6th Round, 206th overall, WR LaVon Brazill (Ohio), Indianapolis Colts
-7th Round, 244th overall, WR Jordan White (Western Michigan), New York Jets
-7th Round, 251st overall, K John Potter (Western Michigan), Buffalo Bills
-7th Round, 253rd overall, QB Chandler Harnish (Northern Illinois), Indianapolis Colts


OL Brandon Brooks (Miami) Houston Texans, 3rd round, 76th overall
The Houston Texans drafted Miami OL Brandon Brooks in the the third round of the NFL Draft, 76th overall.   Brooks showcased his talent for the NFL scouts by participating in the East-West Shrine Game last January, the annual collegiate all-star game.

Brooks was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference selection each of the last two years at Miami. He was a member of the 2010 Miami team that won the MAC Football Championship Game with a 26-21 win over Northern Illinois and went on to win the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl with a 35-21 win over Middle Tennessee State. Brooks becomes the first Miami player drafted since tight end Jake O'Donnell was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round, 237th overall, of the 2009 NFL Draft.

RB Bernard Pierce (Temple) Baltimore Ravens, 3rd round, 84th overall
Temple running back Bernard Pierce was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round, 84th overall, in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Pierce follows former Temple teammates, DT Muhammad Wilkerson, who was a first-round selection, 30th overall by the New York Jets last season, and DB Jaiquawn Jarrett, who was a second-round draft choice, 54th overall, by the Philadelphia Eagles also last season.

Pierce, who declared his departure for the NFL after his junior season in 2011, became Temple's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (53), total touchdowns (54), and points scored (324). He also set the season records for rushing TDs (27), total TDs (27), points scored (162), and 100-yard rushing games (9), while setting game records for rushing TDs in a game (5 at Maryland) and points scored (30 at Maryland).  Pierce finished the 2011 season with 1,481 yards on 273 carries and 27 touchdowns for an average of 123.4 yards per game. Pierce ranked second in the nation with 27 rushing touchdowns, second in the country in scoring (13.5 ppg) and seventh in rushing (123.4 ypg).

TE Evan Rodriquez (Temple) Chicago Bears, 4th round, 111th overall
Former Temple TE Evan Rodriquez was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round, 111th overall, in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Rodriquez joins former Temple teammate RB Bernard Pierce, who was selected in the third round by the Baltimore Ravens.  Rodriquez, a two-time first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection, played in all 13 games with 12 starts at tight end in 2011. Rodriquez was named to the Mackey Award Watch List, as he led the Owls with 479 yards and two touchdowns on 35 receptions in 2011.

LB Tahir Whitehead (Temple) Detroit Lions, 5th round, 138th overall

Temple linebacker Tahir Whitehead was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round, 138th overall, in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Whitehead, a team captain for Temple in 2001, played in all 12 games with 11 starts at Sam linebacker. Whitehead was named to the Butkus Award Watch List, and ranked third on the team in the regular season with 59 tackles, a team-best 12.0 TFL for a loss of 64 yards, five sacks, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.

WR LaVon Brazill (Ohio) Indianapolis Colts, 6th round, 206th overall

Ohio wide receiver LaVon Brazil set the single season school record in 2011 for yards receiving (1,146), receptions (74) and touchdowns (11) en route to earning All-MAC honors. He is also the school's all-time career leader in receptions (189) and yards receiving (2,511). His 18 career touchdowns rank second to Terrence McCrae (19).  Brazill closed out the year by surpassing 100 yards receiving in seven of the Bobcats' final 10 games, including Ohio's final game in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where he recorded 108 yards receiving to earn Most Valuable Player honors to propel the Cats to their first-ever bowl victory.

Brazil becomes the first Ohio player drafted since WR Taylor Price was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round, 90th overall, in the 2010 NFL Draft.

WR Jordan White (Western Michigan) New York Jets, 7th Round, 244th overall

Jordan White leaves Western Michigan as the program's first consensus All-American and the first player in program history to be named first-team Walter Camp All-American.  Last season, White led the nation with 140 receptions, 1,911 receiving yards, 10.8 receptions per game and 147.0 receiving yards per game.  A native of Cleveland, White set career school records for career receptions (306), career receiving yards (4,187), while also setting the school's single-season marks for receptions (140), receiving yards (1,911), touchdown receptions (17), and 100-yard receiving games in a season (10).  White also set the school single-game record for receptions (16) and receiving yards (265).  White also left his mark on the MAC as the conference all-time career leader in receiving yards (4,187) and tied for the conference mark for career receptions (306). 
White becomes the first Western Michigan player drafted since S Louis Delmas in the second round, 33rd overall, in the 2009 NFL Draft.

K John Potter (Western Michigan) Buffalo Bills, 7th Round, 251st overall

John Potter laid claim to the Western Michigan record book during his career.  Not only is he the program's all-time leading scorer (333), he is also the program and MAC record holder in consecutive PATs made in a career (129).  He broke his own PATs made in a season record in 2011 with 57, besting his previous mark of 54 set in 2010.   Potter has made nine PATs in a game twice, eight once and seven, three times in his career.  He also has the fifth most field goals in a career (16) in program history.  On top of all of that, Potter is a gamer, as the program's record holder for tackles by a specialist with 36 stops on special teams in his career.

QB Chandler Harnish (Northern Illinois) Indianapolis Colts, 7th Round, 253rd overall

Chandler Harnish was named an honorable mention All-American by SI.com after a record-setting 2011 campaign and stellar four-year career at Northern Illinois. Harnish threw for 3,216 yards and 28 touchdowns while completing 237-of-384 passes (61.7 percent) and rushed for a team-leading 1,379 yards on 194 carries with 11 touchdowns. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and was the top rushing quarterback in the country this season. Harnish's 4,595 yards of total offense were the fourth-highest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2011. He is one of only four FBS quarterbacks all-time to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in a single season with his rushing totals higher than any other signal-caller to accomplish the feat.  

Harnish also won the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the MAC's Most Valuable Player and was the league's Offensive Player of the Year. A semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Trophy, he was one of 16 individuals across all divisions of college football to be named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, earning an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.

Harnish becomes the first Northern Illinois player drafted since DE Larry English was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2009 NFL Draft.

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