INDIANAPOLIS — Bill Polian has always professed a distinct fondness for Big Ten players. That fact was never more in evidence than in this past weekend’s National Football League draft as the Indianapolis Colts selected three players from Ohio State — wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock and wide receiver Roy Hall.
On Monday, the Colts added one more former Buckeye as cornerback Antonio Smith headlines a group of 15 undrafted free agents that were signed by the team.
“It’s amazing. We’re going to see if we can get a concession on the shuttle bus between here and Columbus for the next few weeks,” Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy joked Sunday evening. “One thing I like about their program [Ohio State]. Those guys they practice hard, they’ve got a great program and they’ve played in a lot of big games. And it just so happens we got a bunch of them this year, but we’re happy to have them.”
Polian’s reasoning for bringing in so many ex-OSU players this year was even more succinct.
“The reason they got into the national championship game [last season] is because they have a lot of good players,” he pointed out.
Here’s a look at the team’s 2007 undrafted free agents:
n Brandon Archer, LB, 6-0, 239, Kansas State — Had 106 tackles as a senior and finished the season as the Wildcats’ leading tackler for the third straight year. Named first-team All-Big 12. He had 268 career tackles at KSU.
n Melvin Bullitt, S, 6-1, 201, Texas A&M; — First-team All-Big 12 selection. Was second on the team in tackles with 82 (26 solo). Also had seven tackles for loss, one interception, one fumble recovery and seven passes broken up. Started 22 consecutive games over his final two seasons with the Aggies.
n Cameron Craig, DE, 6-3, 247, Army — Started 12 games and had 96 total tackles (53 solo) with eight tackles for loss, one pass broken up and one forced fumble.
n Clifton Dawson, RB, 5-10, 210, Harvard — One of the top running backs in school history. Rushed for 1,213 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior. Had 4,831 career rushing yards and 60 career rushing touchdowns.
n Michael DePriest, WR, 6-0, 194, Texas Christian — Hauled in 14 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown as a senior last season.
n Quintin Echols, DT, 6-0, 316, Kansas State — An honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last fall. Played nose tackle, starting 12 games for the Wildcats. He had 31 total tackles, including four for loss, along with two forced fumbles. Had 113 career tackles, 79 over his final two seasons.
n Ramon Guzman, LB, 6-2, 233, Buffalo — Played in nine games as a senior. Had 67 total tackles (38 solo) with eight tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, five passes broken up, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in 2006.
n KaMichael Hall, LB, 6-0, 225, Georgia Tech — Honorable mention All-ACC selection as a senior. Led team in tackles with 91 (58 solo) with nine tackles for loss, four sacks, four passes broken up and two fumbles recovered.
n Jonny Harline, TE, 6-4, 238, Brigham Young — Consensus All-America selection in 2006. Played in 13 games and caught 58 passes for 935 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had 121 career pass receptions for 1,788 yards and 17 touchdowns.
n Joe Lobdell, OT, 6-6, 277, Northern Iowa — Bounced between the offensive line and tight end last season but was a guiding force in the Panthers’ blocking and pass protection schemes. Lobdell guided the UNI offense to its No. 4-ranking in the nation in total offense (408.3 yards/game). Helped open holes for the UNI running backs, which led to nine individual 100-plus rushing efforts.
n Ramel Meekins, DT, 6-0, 280, Rutgers — Played in 13 games in 2006. Had 68 total tackles (28 solo) with 13 tackles for loss, eight sacks, eight quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and five forced fumbles. Tied for the team lead in sacks and was second on team in tackles for loss.
n Gijon Robinson, TE, 6-0, 261, Missouri Western — Played tight end as a senior, catching 25 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown. Has been timed at 4.71 in the 40-yard dash.
n Trent Shelton, WR, 6-2, 211, Baylor — Played in 12 games as a senior. Caught 53 passes for 802 yards and eight touchdowns. Also had five kickoff returns for 110 yards. Was a two-year starter for the Bears.
n Antonio Smith, CB, 5-9, 195, Ohio State — Former walk-on at OSU. Only started one season for the Buckeyes but played well enough to be a candidate for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. Was third on team in tackles with 71 (40 solo) along with 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, one pass broken up, one forced fumble and one fumble recovered.
n Victor Worsley, LB, 6-1, 235, North Carolina — Had 58 total tackles (35 solo) with four tackles for loss and one sacks as a senior.
I I I
n Rookie camp begins Friday — The Colts will conduct their annual rookie mini-camp at the team’s westside Indianapolis complex this weekend.
All workouts, which will begin on Friday, will be closed to the public. All nine of the team’s draft picks plus the 15 undrafted free agents are expected to be on hand for the practices.
n Indy not listening to doubters — Despite the fact that the Colts are the reigning Super Bowl champions, most of the national media have already penciled in the New England Patriots as the team to beat in the AFC for the 2007 season.
The addition of several new players — such as linebacker Adalius Thomas (from Baltimore) and, more recently, wide receiver Randy Moss (traded from Oakland Sunday) — has seemingly taken the spotlight off Indianapolis’ chances of repeating its run to the title.
“That’s the good thing about the National Football League. We have put [2006] behind us and we’re trying to get the best team out there that we can for [2007]. I’m sure every one else is, including the Patriots. That’s where you are, right now. Everybody wants to evaluate who had the best free agency period, who had the best draft,” Dungy said.
“It really starts in August when you get out there in training camp and put your team out on the field. And you develop the team from there. So I think everybody’s going to do that. I don’t foresee any of the other 31 teams forfeiting.”
Polian concurred.
“Our focus is always on how we can make our team as good as it can be. If we do that, the rest will take care of itself,” he said. “Coach [John] Wooden said that. And he’s right. Worry about yourself and you’ll do fine.”
n Berman inks deal with Washington — Former Indiana State wide receiver Carl Berman signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins on Monday. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Berman, who set an ISU single-season record with 59 catches in 2006, will report for the Redskins’ three-day rookie mini-camp Thursday.
“I feel pretty good right now,” the Treasure Island, Fla., native said in a phone interview Monday evening. “They [Washington] called me [Monday] morning around 7 a.m. and asked me what I thought about becoming a member of the Redskins. We finished things up around 1 or 2 [p.m.]. I’m ready to go.”
Although he was not taken in this past weekend’s NFL draft, he expects to be looked at as both a receiver and kick returner by Washington player personnel officials.
“They told me that they really wanted to shore up their receiver and special teams positions since they didn’t address those areas as much as in the draft,” Berman said. “So I’ll be playing some receiver and returning kicks for them.
“I just want to go out there and do as well as I can. Anytime that you have an opportunity like this, you want to make the most of it.”
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