With two prospects, The Tribe turns its attention to this week’s NFL draft
How to watch and who to look for
The NFL draft begins this week on Thursday, April 28th at 8pm Eastern Time. College prospects from all over the country are waiting to have their name called by one of the prestigious 32 NFL teams, signaling the beginning of their professional football career.
This year’s draft will be particularly exciting for members of The Tribe and the Williamsburg community because two of the prospects that are expected to be drafted are from The College of William & Mary. These two talented athletes will look to take their football careers to the next level. Here is what you need to know for Thursday night:
How to Watch the NFL Draft
Round 1
Thursday April 28th on ESPN and NFL Network at 8pm ET.
Round 2-3
Friday April 29th on ESPN and NFL Network at 7pm ET. ESPN’s coverage moves to ESPN 2 at 8pm.
Round 4-7
Saturday April 30th at noon on ESPN and NFL Network.
This year William and Mary has two prospects, Safety Deandre Houston-Carson, and inside linebacker Luke Rhodes. These two will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tre McBride who was selected in the 7th round of the 2015 NFL draft at pick #245.
Deandre Houston Carson breaks up a pass against JMU(Credit: Rob Ostermaier, Daily Press)
Safety Deandre Houston-Carson, who was a William and Mary team captain and first team All-American had a stellar senior season and has tallied an impressive 293 tackles in his career. Even more impressive is his nose for the football with 45 interceptions in his college career. Deandre has also blocked 9 Field Goals for the Tribe on special teams.
Before the draft he has participated in the NCAA’s Senior Bowl in which he made big hits and forced a key incompletion on a 2nd down and long play in which North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz (a first round prospect) was attempting a pass to Iowa State tight end Henry Krieger-Clble.
Deandre also participated in the NFL combine in which he posted the following statistics:
40 Yard Dash: 4.54 seconds
Bench Press: (225 lbs.): 13 reps
Vertical Jump: 32.5 inches
Broad Jump: 9 Feet, 6 inches
3 Cone Drill: 7.15 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle:4.28 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle:11.89 seconds
His 40-yard dash times ranks him as the number five safety in this year’s draft. But what makes him stand out to scouts is his awareness and attitude on and off the field. John Ledyard a Senior NFL Draft analyst from The Draft Wire of USA Today recently tweeted in February about this intensity.
Mock Drafts as of Tuesday April 26th project his name being called in the 4th round to 6th rounds on Saturday:
Draftsite.com: 5th Round Pick #148 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bleachereport.com: 5th Round, Pick #153 to the Philadelphia Eagles
NFL.com: 6th Round, Pick #195 to the Houston Texans
Foxsports.com: 4th Round, Pick #118 to the New York Jets
Cbssports.com: 4th Round, Pick #121 to the Minnesota Vikings
The second exciting opportunity for William & Mary is talented linebacker Luke Rhodes. Also team captain for the 2015 season he had the team’s second best tackle numbers at 78 and had 13 tackle efforts in each of his games against Richmond. He also finished the season strong when it came to making big plays with 5.5 tackles for loss, 4 pass break-ups, and two forced fumbles as well as 1 recovery.
He was invited to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in which he started and was in on the first tackle of the game. Luke can be seen below making one such his signature tackles.
Jan 23, 2016; Carson, CA, USA; American Team running back Jacobi Green of Richmond (21) runs the ball as National Team linebacker Luke Rhodes of William and Mary (51) attempts to tackle during the first half of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at StubHub Center. (Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)
Even though he did not participate in the NFL Combine, he performed extremely well at the William and Mary pro day,
His pro day statistics via NFL Draft Diamonds are as follows:
40-yard Dash: 4.64 seconds
Vertical Jump: 35 inches
Broad Jump: 9 feet, 10 inches
3-cone drill: 7.13 seconds
Bench Press (225 lbs.): 29 reps
20-yard shuttle: 4.32 seconds
Luke’s bench press is the highest among inside linebackers and he is tied for the 4th fastest 40 in his position group at 4.64 seconds. Recently Luke was working out for the Indianapolis Colts. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could also be a landing spot for Luke as LB coach Mark Duffner is a Tribe Football Alumnus. Scouts like his awareness in pass coverage as well as his strength to make tackles.
Mock Drafts as of Tuesday April 26th have his name being called anywhere from the 4th to 7th rounds:
Draftsite.com: 4th Round, Pick # 131 to the Green Bay Packers
Bleacherreport.com: 7th Round, Pick #223 to the Cleveland Browns
NFL.com: 6th Round, Pick #200 to the Green Bay Packers
I personally will be watching to see where these two outstanding playmakers and members of the Tribe family end up. This is a big deal – the last time William & Mary had TWO players in the NFL draft was 2010.
Get some friends together and form your own watch party to support your fellow students Deandre and Luke. And if you cannot watch the draft coverage live, check William & Mary and Tribal Fever social media for updates on draft results.
Go Deandre, go Luke, and GO TRIBE!