April 27, 2008
PULLMAN, Wash. - Former Washington State quarterback Alex Brink was selected by the Houston Texans in the seventh round of the 2008 National Football League Draft, Sunday. Additionally, safety Husain Abdullah (Minnesota Vikings), wide receiver Michael Bumpus (Seattle Seahawks), tight end Jed Collins (Philadelphia Eagles), wide receiver Charles Dillon (Indianapolis Colts) and Ropati Pitoitua (New York Jets) each signed free agent contracts.
Brink was the 16th pick in the seventh round, and the 223rd pick overall. The Cougars have had at least one player selected in each of the last 14 drafts.
Brink (Eugene, Ore.) threw for 3,818 yards this past season en route to being named second-team All-Pacific-10 Conference. Brink garnered all-conference accolades three times during his WSU career, and was named the ARA Sportsmanship Award winner this past season.
Brink's 2007 passing yardage was the second-highest single-season total in school history. He completed 305-of-503 passes for a completion-percentage of .606, the fourth-best in WSU history. The senior also threw 26 touchdown passes, which ranks tied for third on the single-season list.
In 2007 Brink took over as the WSU career leader in passing yardage (10,913), touchdowns (76), attempts (1,451) and completions (848). Brink, one of the most prolific passers in conference history, ranks third and fifth in the Pac-10 in yards and touchdowns, respectively, and is only the sixth signal-caller in conference history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and toss 70-or-more touchdowns.
Abdullah led WSU with a career-high 93 tackles (54 solo) last season. The native of Pomona, Calif., also posted 8.5 tackles for loss, intercepted a team-high four passes, had six pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick en route to All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors. One of his interceptions he returned for a touchdown to clinch a victory over Stanford, earning Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors. The senior's 10 career thefts rank 11th all-time at WSU.
Bumpus totaled 70 catches in his senior campaign (2007), good for second on the all-time single-season list and only two receptions back of the school record set by Nakoa McElrath in 2001. The Culver City, Calif., native's 789 yards and four touchdowns were each career highs. Bumpus also became WSU's all-time leader in career receptions (195) and career punt return yards (801). He set both records in the Stanford game last season. Bumpus was named All-Pac-10 Second Team in 2004 as a punt return specialist, and was named honorable mention in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Collins hauled in 52 receptions in 2007, the highest single-season total by a tight end in school history. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native accumulated 512 yards and three touchdowns en route to All-Pac-10 Second Team, Rivals.com second-team All-Pac-10 and Phil Steele second-team All-Pac-10 honors. Also a standout in the classroom, Collins earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic District VIII Second Team and Pac-10 All-Academic First Team accolades.
Dillon started each of WSU's 12 games at wide receiver in 2007, finishing fourth on the team with 37 receptions. A native of Oxnard, Calif., Dillon posted 407 yards and three touchdowns last year. He was also the Cougars' top kick returner, racking up 626 yards on 30 returns. The marks each rank third on the WSU all-time single-season list.
Pitoitua (Spanaway, Wash.) appeared in 36 games during his Cougar career, making 24 starts. As a senior in 2007 he racked up 42 tackles, including five tackles-for-loss. For his career Pitoitua posted 116 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks.
--WSUCOUGARS.COM--
