April 27, 2008

McNeese State all-American Bryan Smith was drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles during Sunday's NFL draft, being the 80th player taken overall.

The Cowboy defensive end, the 2007 Southland Conference player of the year, is to report to the Eagles on Friday for a mini-camp.

He's the highest McNeese draft pick since defensive back Keith Smith (no relation) also went in the third round to the Detroit Lions during the 2004 draft.

Smith said Sunday from his home in Newton, TX that the Eagles informed him that they wanted him to play defensive end.

"I didn't get to see the selection on television" Smith said, "because I was on the phone with the Eagles. I don't remember who it was - the head coach or the general manager - but he told me that they were going to draft me just about the time that it came on televison.

"I really didn't know where I would go," Smith added. "Somewhere from the third to the sixth round."

He said that Philadelphia had not been one of the teams that had been talking to him the most and added that most of the teams were looking at moving him to outside linebacker.

"I am real happy to be going to the Eagles and to have a chance to continue to play defensive end," he added.

Besides Keith Smith, the new Eagle draftee will be joining former Cowboys B. J. Sams and Luke Lawton in the NFL. Both Sams and Lawton signed as free agents and have played for the last few seasons.

Sams, a punt and kickoff return specialist, signed and played with Baltimore for several seasons and just recently signed on with Kansas City while Lawton, a fullback and special teams player, has played with the Indianapolis Colts for the past two years.

This past season Smith was also named to the all-Louisiana team, to four all-American squads and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan national award. He also ranked fourth in the nation in quarterback sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage, setting Cowboy single game, single season and career records for sacks.