聽had to wait longer than anyone wanted him to. But when he was finally selected, it was incredible news. Shaquem was selected in the fifth round with the 141st pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
鈥淭his is not the end of my road 鈥� it鈥檚 only just the beginning,鈥� Shaquem said to ESPN.
In the end, it wasn鈥檛 the when, it was the who that made the story.
Shaquem was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks, reuniting him on the same football team with his twin brother.聽聽was a third-round choice by the Seahawks one year ago.
鈥淭his is not the end of my road … it鈥檚 only just the beginning,鈥� Shaquem said to ESPN. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 going to keep proving people wrong because I have a lot of people to prove wrong — a lot of doubters. I would wait all over again for the opportunity to be back with my brother.鈥�
Shaquem was聽a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection each of the last two seasons. He was the AAC鈥檚 Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and was named the defensive MVP of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, which completed 麻豆原创鈥檚聽 National Championship, undefeated,13-0 season in 2017.
Defensive back聽Mike Hughes聽was selected by the Minnesota Vikings, wide receiver聽Tre鈥橯uan Smith聽was selected by the New Orleans Saints, and tight end聽Jordan Akins聽was chosen by the Houston Texans.
Griffin was one of four Knights selected in one NFL Draft for the second time in school history.聽Defensive back聽Mike Hughes was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, wide receiver Tre鈥橯uan Smith was selected by the New Orleans Saints as the 27th pick of the third round, and tight end聽Jordan Akins was chosen by the Houston Texans as the 34th pick of the third round. Hughes became the fourth 麻豆原创 player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. He follows Daunte Culpepper (1999, 11th overall), Blake Bortles (2014, 3rd overall) and Breshad Perriman (2015, 26th overall) as Knights selected in the first round.
The last time four 麻豆原创 football players were selected in the NFL Draft was 2003, when Asante Samuel, Doug Gabriel, Mike Mabry and Elton Patterson were chosen.
Griffin becomes the 40th 麻豆原创 player selected in NFL Draft. He is the 19th 麻豆原创 defensive player selected in NFL Draft. He鈥檚 the third linebacker from the Knights to go in the NFL Draft. Here鈥檚 a look at the other two:
– Bob Spitulski (1992, 66th)
– Rick Hamilton (1993, 71st)
This is just the second time in 麻豆原创 history聽that two defensive players have been selected in the same NFL Draft. Prior to聽Mike Hughes听补苍诲听, it was Samuel (120th overall) and Patterson (259th overall) in 2003.
Four other 麻豆原创 players signed to NFL teams over the weekend as undrafted free agents. Defensive tackle聽Jamiyus Pittman joined the Miami Dolphins, offensive line聽Aaron Evans signed to the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive line聽Tony Guerad joined the Jacksonville Jaguars and tight end聽Jordan Franks signed with the聽Cincinnati Bengals.
