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C. Aluka Berry/caberry@thestate.com/
USC's Captain Munnerlyn (1)
GoGamecocks.com
Draft ends well for Succop as seven USC players are picked
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 04.27.09
- Morris: Draft reflects well on USC recruiting
- Munnerlyn, Cook move on after draft letdown
- Titans' franchised tight end to sign tender
- Emanuel Cook signs with Jets
- Succop: Call him ‘Mr. Clairvoyant’
- McKinley drafted by Denver Broncos
- Brinkley bound for Minnesota
- Green Bay grabs Meredith
- Though unexpected, Cook happy to be a Titan
survey:
Which of USC's seven NFL draft picks surprised you the most?
USC’s draft picks
JARED COOK, TE: 3rd Round (No. 89), Titans
KENNY MCKINLEY, WR: 5th Round (No. 141), Broncos
JASPER BRINKLEY, LB: 5th Round (No. 150), Vikings
JAMON MEREDITH, OT: 5th Round (No. 162), Packers
CAPTAIN MUNNERLYN, DB: 7th Round (No. 216), Panthers
STONEY WOODSON, DB: 7th Round (No. 238), Giants
RYAN SUCCOP, K: 7th Round (No. 256), Chiefs
The South Carolina football team made some history during Sunday’s second day of the NFL draft — but not everyone was happy about it.
The Gamecocks had seven players picked in the draft, the second-most in program history and the most since the draft was shortened to seven rounds in 1994.
The seven draft picks for USC matches Oregon State and Ohio State for the second-highest total for any school in the 2009 draft, topped only by Southern California, which had 11 players selected.
The Gamecocks had nine players selected in 1954, although their last player drafted, Tommy Woodlee, went in the 30th round. So this year’s draft performance should have been something to crow about, with kicker Ryan Succop’s Mr. Irrelevant status (for being the draft’s final pick) serving as a fitting finish.
But there was disappointment among other players, starting with Jamon Meredith.
The offensive tackle from Simpsonville, projected by many experts as a second-rounder, slipped all the way to the fifth round. And Meredith blamed some unnamed USC coaches, whom he said gave some “bad information” about him to NFL teams.
Meredith said he was told that by the Green Bay Packers, who picked him Sunday. He didn’t want to reveal the specifics of what was said.
“I just know there was unfair statements, it was some stuff that was not true that really affected me,” Meredith said.
Asked if it was current or former coaches, Meredith said it was “probably both.”
USC coach Steve Spurrier declined comment when told of Meredith’s comments, according to team spokesman Steve Fink.
Then there was safety Emanuel Cook, who was not drafted at all. The team’s leading tackler the past two seasons, Cook was academically ineligible for the Outback Bowl and left school with a year of eligibility remaining.
Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn’s decision to go pro also early looked like suspect after the junior was picked in the seventh round by Carolina.
Stoney Woodson, a senior who wasn’t even a full-time starter at cornerback, was picked in the seventh round by the New York Giants.
The first Gamecock to go, as expected, was tight end Jared Cook. But the junior, who also left early, went later than expected when he was taken in the third round by Tennessee, which may switch him to receiver.
Despite going later, Cook earned a good deal of praise from the ESPN analysts broadcasting the draft.
Ron Jaworski compared Cook to Shannon Sharpe — the former Savannah State tight end who went on to a storied career. Mel Kiper pointed to his 15.6 yards-per-catch average “without quality quarterback play at South Carolina.” Chris Mortensen remembered being at a USC game this year, and saying “wow” when Cook caught a pass.
“He’s almost a freakish kind of athlete,” Jaworski said. “Kerry Collins will love having him out there.”
Three Gamecocks went in the fifth round: receiver Kenny McKinley (141st overall to Denver), middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley (150th to Minnesota) and Meredith (162nd, and the 16th offensive tackle taken.)
“I’m happy to start a new chapter in my life. It was time for it,” Meredith said. “I may not have gone where I was expected to and everybody thought I was going to go. But this is an opportunity a lot of guys are still waiting on.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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