Canes Dominate NFL Draft

For the ninth year in a row, the Miami Hurricanes produced at least one First Round NFL Draft pick as four Hurricanes were selected in the first round and five UM players were chosen in the first three rounds on the first day of the 2003 National Football League Draft on Saturday.

The four first-round selections led all schools. It marks the third consecutive season that Miami has led the nation in first-round choices in the NFL Draft. Five UM players were first-round choices in 2002 and four were first-round selections in the 2001 Draft.

The four UM student-athletes selected in the first round Saturday afternoon - wide receiver Andre Johnson (Houston Texans), defensive end Jerome McDougle (Philadelphia Eagles), running back Willis McGahee (Buffalo Bills) and defensive tackle William Joseph (New York Giants) - gives UM a total of 13 players who have been taken in the first round over the 2001, 2002 and 2003 drafts. That three-year total is an all-time record for any college football program, surpassing the old mark of nine set by Southern California (USC) in 1968-69-70.

Miami's nine first rounders over the last two years equals the mark set by UM in 2001 and 2002 and eclipses the old mark of seven set by USC in 1968-69 and matched by Notre Dame in 1993-94. Prior to the last three years, Miami's previous best two-year total was five, achieved three times (1987-88, 1988-89 and 2000-01). Florida State also produced 5 first-round selections in 1995-96, as did Tennessee in 1991-92.

Defensive end Andrew Williams was the other Hurricane selected on Saturday, going to the San Francisco 49ers with the 25th pick of the third round with the 89th selection overall.

Last year, Miami's five first-rounders tied the record for most players from a single school taken in the first round, originally set by Southern California in 1969. The four taken in 2003 ties for the second-best ever, a total also achieved by Miami in 2001.

Eighteen University of Miami football student-athletes are eligible for selection in this weekend's draft, which continues with the final four rounds on Sunday and will be televised live by ESPN.

The most Hurricanes selected in a single NFL Draft were 12 in 1988, followed by 11 in 2002 and 1963, and nine selections in 1993. Miami has produced two No. 1 selections in the draft: Vinny Testaverde (1987 by Tampa Bay) and Russell Maryland (1991 by Dallas). The most players selected in a single NFL Draft from a single school is 14 set by USC in 1975 and duplicated in 1977.