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MWC Sees Seven Players Selected in 2008 NFL Draft San Diego State led conference with four selections
April 27, 2008 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mountain West Conference had seven players selected in the 2008 NFL Draft held on April 26-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Four of the nine institutions had players selected, led by San Diego State with four. San Diego State quarterback Kevin O'Connell was the first Mountain West player selected in the draft, taken by the New England Patriots with the 31st pick (94th overall) in the third round. 2007 MWC Defensive Player of the Year Beau Bell of UNLV was taken 10 picks later, going to the Cleveland Browns with the fourth selection (104th overall) in the fourth round. The Baltimore Ravens took New Mexico wide receiver Marcus Smith two picks after Bell with the seventh selection (106th overall) in the fourth round. BYU linebacker Brian Kehl also was chosen in the fourth round by the Super Bowl champion New York Giants with the 19th pick (123rd overall). The sixth and seventh rounds of the NFL draft belonged to San Diego State as long snapper Tyler Schmitt was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round (189 overall) and wide receivers Brett Swain (217th by Green Bay) and Chaz Schilens (226th overall by Oakland) were picked in the seventh. O'Connell became the first Aztec drafted since 2006 (Freddy Keiaho to Indianapolis and Jeff Webb to Kansas City), and the first SDSU quarterback selected on draft day since Dan McGwire in 1991. O'Connell was a second-team all-MWC selection in 2007 and was a four-time team captain. He concluded his Aztec career as the school's all-time leader in rushing yardage (1,312) and touchdowns (19) by a quarterback and ranked third in passing yardage (7,689 yards). Bell is the third UNLV linebacker in the last four years to be drafted, joining a pair of fifth-rounders, Adam Seward and Ryan Claridge, in 2005. Bell becomes one of the highest Rebels drafted in the last two decades, selected only behind Eric Wright, who went 53rd overall in last year's draft to Cleveland, and defensive end Anton Palepoi, chosen 60th in 2002 by Seattle. Bell is UNLV's second-leading all-time tackler with a career total of 320. He became the first player in MWC history to be named Defensive Player of the Week three times in one season in 2007 after leading the league with 126 tackles and five forced fumbles.
Smith was a first-team all-MWC selection as a wide receiver last season and led the league with 1,125 yards on a school record 91 receptions. He finished his career ranked sixth all-time at New Mexico with 3,749 career all-purpose yards (2,073 receiving, 323 rushing, 1,353 kick returns), averaging 76.5 per game. He ranks among the top-10 all-time at UNM in receptions (153 - 4th), receiving yardage (2,073 - 7th) and receiving touchdowns (13 - t7th), and concluded his collegiate career with a catch in 27 consecutive games. Smith is the highest drafted wide receiver in Lobo history and first UNM receiver selected since Terance Mathis in 1990 (sixth round). Kehl, a first-team all-MWC selection in 2007, is the 14th BYU linebacker to be selected in the NFL Draft since 1972, and the first linebacker to be drafted since Brady Popping was picked by the Green Bay Packers in 2005. He collected 84 tackles during his season, including a team-best 48 solo tackles. Schmitt served as the SDSU long snapper for four seasons and earned special teams' most valuable player during the 2007 campaign. Swain, a second-team all-MWC performer as a senior at SDSU, caught 58 passes for 973 yards and five touchdowns last season. He recorded a pass reception in each of his final 26 games and collected four or more catches in 18 of his final 24 contests. Swain ended his Aztec career with 135 receptions, 1,893 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Schilens caught 35 passes for 679 yards in just eight games last season. He led all MWC receivers by averaging 100.7 receiving yards per conference game in 2007. Schilens concluded his SDSU career with 103 receptions, 1,603 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. DRAFT NOTES San Diego State has had four wide receivers selected in the NFL Draft since 2003 and 11 receivers since the 1990 NFL Draft. This marks the third time in the last four seasons that at least two San Diego State players were selected in the NFL Draft. In 2005, Matt McCoy (Philadelphia), Kirk Morrison (Oakland) and Marviel Underwood (Green Bay) were taken, while in 2006 Freddy Keiaho (Indianapolis) and Jeff Webb (Kansas City) were both selected. San Diego State had four players selected in the 2007 NFL Draft. The last time four Aztecs were selected was in 1997, when Will Blackwell (2nd round to Pittsburgh), Nathaniel Jacquet (5th round to Indianapolis), George Jones (5th round to Pittsburgh) and Ricky Parker (6th round to Chicago) were drafted. Marcus Smith is the sixth New Mexico Lobo selected in the NFL Draft since 2005 and the 10th chosen during head coach Rocky Long's tenure. New Mexico has had at least one player drafted each of the last four years - the program's longest streak in the modern NFL Draft era.
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