Six Miami players went in the opening round, while UF and FSU players had to wait it out.
By GREG AUMAN
Published April 25, 2004
The University of Miami, college football's leading manufacturer of first-round picks, took that reputation to a new level Saturday. The Hurricanes broke their own record by putting six players into the first round.
There were so many Hurricanes taken that the rest of the state schools had to wait until the second round for a change. Florida went without a first-round pick for the first time since 1996, and Florida State didn't have a first-rounder for the second year in a row, the first time that's happened since 1987-88.
Miami had six players taken in the first 21, giving the Hurricanes an unprecedented 19 first-round picks in the past four drafts.
"I think it's the work ethic, how hard we want to play well," safety Sean Taylor told Redskins.com after Washington selected him fifth.
"That whole attitude comes from the university. I think we just carry that over into the NFL and carry the tradition. We produce great talent and great players."
So coveted were the Hurricanes that three teams traded up to select Miami players. Cleveland, with former Miami coach Butch Davis at the helm, gave Detroit its second-round pick just to move up one spot and take tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. at No. 6. Linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams followed, with the Jets taking Vilma 12th and the Broncos selecting Williams at No. 17.
Denver had moved up seven spots in a previous trade with Cincinnati, and chose Williams even though the Broncos could have had their pick of any running back.
The Dolphins gave up a fourth-round pick to move up one spot and take guard Vernon Carey at No. 19, and the Patriots clinched the record when they took defensive tackle Vince Wilfork 21st.
The last two Hurricanes were literally the biggest picks - Carey is conservatively listed at 363 pounds, while Wilfork, who flirted with 400 last season, weighs 344.
Miami has had at least four first-round picks in each of the last four drafts, and this year's haul breaks the NFL record the Hurricanes tied in 2002 with five. Southern Cal had five in 1968.
The Gators and Seminoles weren't heard from until the Titans selected Florida tight end Ben Troupe, commonly thought to be a first rounder, in the second round with the 40th overall pick. If he went later than expected, the opposite was true for cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, who was taken by Cincinnati with the 49th pick. Tackle Max Starks went in the third round to the Steelers.
Florida State's Greg Jones and Darnell Dockett were projected as first-round picks in some mock drafts, but it was linebacker Michael Boulware who was the first Seminole taken, going to the Seahawks with the 53rd pick.
Jones, a bullish running back, was taken by Jacksonville two picks later. Few players slid as far as Dockett, the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year, who had written in an online draft diary that he hoped he would go in the first round.
Unless you're taken first overall, nearly any player can feel slighted.
Winslow was disappointed to fall to sixth after saying the Redskins had assured him they would take him fifth if he was available.
"They looked me in the face and told me they were going to pick me," Winslow said. "But they got a guy like Sean Taylor, and we'll meet soon."
