University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Three Panther Football Stars Selected in NFL's Annual Draft
4/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Three Panther Football Stars Selected in NFL's Annual Draft
4/22/2002
PITTSBURGH- Three University of Pittsburgh football players were taken in the 2002 NFL Draft on Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21, marking the most Panthers selected since 1995 and 1996 when three were taken each year. After the draft ended on Sunday evening, two more former Panthers joined NFL teams as rookie free agents.
Wide receiver Antonio Bryant, defensive back Ramon Walker, and defensive end Bryan Knight were chosen by the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Chicago Bears, respectively. Wide receiver R.J. English and quarterback David Priestley were signed as rookie free agents by the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills, respectively.
Bryant, a native of Miami, Fla., was selected by the Cowboys with the 31st pick in the second round (63rd overall) after a stellar three-year career with the Panthers. He set school records for most receiving yards in a career (3,061) and season (1,457-2000) and finished second in career receptions with 173, five behind former Panther and current Detroit Lion Latef Grim. Bryant was the 2000 recipient of the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wideout, and had 12 receptions for 256 yards and four touchdowns in the Panthers' two bowl appearances the past two seasons.
Bryant is the highest Panther selected since guard Ruben Brown was taken in the first round by the Buffalo Bills in 1995 and is the first Pittsburgh football player picked in the second round since the Los Angeles Rams selected cornerback Steve Israel in 1992.
Walker, a mainstay in Pittsburgh's defensive backfield for each of the past three seasons, was chosen by the expansion Texans in the fifth round with the 18th pick (153rd overall). He finished his Pittsburgh career as one of the team's most prolific tacklers in history and was known for his hard-hitting style of play. Walker's 328 stops rank seventh on the Panthers' all-time list, including 131 tackles in his freshman campaign in 1999 and 126 in 12 games last year. In 31 career games, Walker made 10 or more tackles in 19 of those contests and earned All-Big East honors in each of his three seasons. The Akron, Ohio, native is the sixth Panther defensive back chosen in the NFL Draft since 1990.
Twelve picks later, the defending NFC Central Division champion Bears chose Knight with the 165th pick of the draft. Knight, a defensive end at Pittsburgh, is projected to play the linebacker position in Chicago. His pass rushing ability and quickness enabled him to record 23.5 career sacks, seventh most in Panther annals. He earned All-Big East honors in each of the past two seasons with a then-conference record 26 tackles for losses as a junior in 2000. Knight had 236 career tackles to place him 24th on Pittsburgh's all-time list.
The Buffalo, N.Y., native and winner of the prestigious Blue-Gold Award handed out last Monday at the annual Pittsburgh Senior Awards ceremony, is the first Panther selected by the Bears since offensive lineman Roman Matusz was taken in the 11th round of the 1990 draft.
English, a wide receiver from Waterford, Pa., had a breakthrough season as a senior in 2001, leading the Big East in receiving yards per game (69.1), the fifth consecutive year a Panther has accomplished that feat. He had career highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (836) and teamed with Bryant to become the Big East's top receiving duo, the third straight season the Panthers have held that honor.
His road to the NFL was one filled with overcoming adversity as he joined the Panthers in 1997 as a walk-on and later was awarded a scholarship. He battled through two knee surgeries to record the 17th-most receiving yards in a career at Pittsburgh (1,299) and was named a University Senior of Distinction at the Senior Awards ceremony.
Priestley led the Panthers to their first bowl victory since 1989 with a 34-19 win over North Carolina State in the Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl. He threw for 271 yards and two touchdown passes against the Wolfpack and completed 18 of his 32 attempts without an interception. He overcame a slow start to the 2001 season to direct the Panthers to six consecutive victories to close out the year. In that span, he completed nearly 60 percent of his passes (101 of 169) for 1,468 yards and 15 touchdown passes against just one interception.
He finished his Panther career as the school's fourth-leading passer, throwing for 4,553 yards in three seasons. He had five of the top 40 single-game performances by a Pittsburgh quarterback, including a 407-yard game against Virginia Tech in 1999 which ranks fourth in Panther annals. The Los Alamitos, Calif., native was named a Big East Offensive Player of the Week on four different occasions in his career and also recorded the sixth-longest run in Panther history. In the first game of the 2001 season and inaugural game at Heinz Field, Priestley ran 85 yards for a touchdown in a 31-0 win over East Tennessee State. His TD run was the first official touchdown scored in the new stadium.
The Panthers' record for most players drafted in one season is 12, set in 1981. That year, Pittsburgh had three first-round choices: Hugh Green (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Randy McMillan (Baltimore Colts) and Mark May (Washington Redskins).
