SMU has four players selected in NFL draft
Following in the footsteps of OG Josh LeRibeus, who was picked in the third round (71st overall) by the Washington Redskins on Friday, was defensive end/tight end Taylor Thompson (145th overall), Richard Crawford (213th overall) and Kelvin Beachum (248th overall).
Thompson, a fifth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans, had 22.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks in his career at SMU and was a three-time All-Conference USA selection.
Crawford will join LeRibeus in Washington. Taken in the seventh round by the Redskins, Crawford picked off six passes and recorded 101 tackles in two seasons and was a first team All-Conference USA selection in 2011 as punt return specialist.
Beachum moves on to Pittsburg after starting four years at left tackle for SMU, where he earned first team all-conference honors his junior and senior seasons. Beachum will be reunited with former Mustangs teammate Emmanuel Sanders with the Steelers.
Horned Frogs duo drafted
TCU linebacker Tank Carder and defensive back/kick returner Greg McCoy received draft calls Saturday.
Carder, famous for his “immaculate deflection” in TCU’s Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, was selected 147th overall in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills and becomes the fifth TCU linebacker in as many season to join an NFL team.
Carder was a two-time All-American and a Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons, amassing 70 tackles for the Horned Frogs his senior year.
McCoy will head to Chicago. Taken in the seventh round (280th overall) by the Bears, McCoy was an All-American return specialist his senior season, as well as the Mountain West special teams player of the year.
McCoy, who played at Dallas Woodrow Wilson, saved TCU’s Poinsettia Bowl victory by returning an interception 24 yards to set up the game-tying touchdown.
He returned two kicks for touchdowns in 2011 and his 30.6-yard return average his senior year ranked sixth nationally.
Cader and McCoy are Gary Patterson’s 30th and 31st players drafted in his tenure at TCU.
Travis L. Brown
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