Georgia poised to continue run of success in NFL draft

ATLANTA - Georgia's run of four straight top 10 rankings has earned coach Mark Richt's program national attention.

High school recruits may be more impressed by other statistics: In the last five years, Georgia has had 31 players taken in the NFL draft, the third-highest total in the nation. Georgia tied for fourth with 35 players on NFL opening-day rosters last season.

Georgia should add to the numbers with another large class of draft-eligible players this year, including tight end Leonard Pope and offensive guard Max Jean-Gilles.

The Bulldogs won't have as many players taken on Saturday's first day of the draft as in some years. By the end of Sunday, Georgia could have seven or more players drafted.

Only Miami, with 39, and Ohio State, with 36, have had more players drafted than Georgia in the last five years. Among Southeastern Conference schools, Tennessee is the closest to Georgia with 30 players drafted in that span.

In that span, Georgia has won two SEC titles and has finished in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll four straight years.

Richt says he doesn't trumpet his program's success in the draft to recruits, but he says high school players with NFL dreams have a way of finding that information.

"I don't think we just go crazy with it," Richt said this week.

"I think what I've noticed is when kids come visit us sometimes on those unofficial visits and they look around our building a little bit and see the kids who have been first-round picks and the kids who are in the league and find out we're like third or fourth in the nation in current players in the NFL, they're kind of surprised and taken back a little bit."

Cornerback DeMario Minter, who hopes to join Pope and Jean-Gilles as players selected in the first three rounds Saturday, says former Georgia players in the league take pride in the school's strong presence on NFL rosters.

"It's like a tradition," Minter said Wednesday. "You always keep up with guys. It's like a fraternity. When you play with guys like Thomas Davis and Sean Jones and Odell Thurman, and you see what they do in the league, you know it's not far-fetched that you can achieve your goals."

Minter, from Stephenson High, plans to watch the draft with family and friends in Decatur. Minter is one of three 2005 starters in the secondary - with cornerback Tim Jennings and safety Greg Blue - who hope to be drafted.

Other Georgia draft hopefuls include quarterback D.J. Shockley, receiver Bryan McClendon, defensive linemen Kedric Golston and Will Thompson, offensive tackle Dennis Roland and running back Tyson Browning.

Gerald Anderson, another 2005 senior defensive tackle who had been listed as a potential late-rounds pick, has accepted a job as the defensive line coach at Pierce County High School near his Waycross home. He says he has given up his playing career.

Shockley, who had a workout for the Atlanta Falcons, could be a late-rounds pick.

Jean-Gilles is rated as one of the top guards in the draft. He may have caused some concern when he weighed 355 pounds at the NFL combine, but he was down to 343 for his workout for scouts at Georgia on March 24.

The 6-foot-7 Pope left Georgia after leading Georgia with 39 receptions for 541 yards and four touchdowns as a junior.

Some mock drafts have Pope being selected by Cincinnati or Jacksonville late in the first round.

Pope will be the latest in a tradition of Georgia tight ends in the NFL.

Richt was not known for his use of tight ends as the offensive coordinator at Florida State, which used more four-receiver sets. But when he came to Georgia in 2001, Richt inherited a strong group of tight ends from former coach Jim Donnan.

"When we got here and looked at our personnel and looked at our top five skill guys to get into the game it was always a situation where at least one tight end should be in the game, and in a lot of situations two tight ends, which we hardly ever did at Florida State," Richt said.

Richt kept using the tight ends, so top recruits at the position have continued to sign with Georgia.

Along the way, Georgia tight ends Randy McMichael, Jermaine Wiggins and Ben Watson have become productive NFL players.

This year's class of signees included tight end NaDerris Ward of Oakland, Calif. Ward, rated as one of the top three tight ends in the nation by Rivals.com and Scout.com, said he chose Georgia in part because of its tradition of stressing the position.

Martrez Milner, who will be a senior in 2006, could be rated among the top tight ends in next year's NFL draft.

Georgia had six players drafted last year, including Davis and David Pollack in the first round. It had eight players taken in the 2002 draft.