NFL Bulls: Updates on 5 USF players drafted

Posted Jul 8, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jul 8, 2010 at 10:57 AM

The scene at Pro Day in March was a new one for USF.

NFL head coaches Tom Coughlin, Marvin Lewis and Lovie Smith attended, as did most of the coaching staff of the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

The Bulls had plenty of talent for NFL personnel to evaluate, and it showed in April’s draft when Jason Pierre-Paul, Nate Allen, Jerome Murphy, Carlton Mitchell and George Selvie got drafted.

Here is a quick update on each:

++ New York Giants co-owner and president John Mara was disgusted following his team’s dismal ending last season. In rebuilding the team in the offseason, the team drafted Pierre-Paul in the first round to help the team’s transformation back to its 2007 championship season, writes USA Today’s Tom Pedulla.

Pierre-Paul’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, continues to negotiate with the Giants and Pierre-Paul is expected to be signed by the time training camp opens Aug. 1 at the University at Albany in upstate New York.

++ Mitchell, a former Gaither High standout who chose to skip his final season at USF, became the third Bull to officially sign, inking a four-year deal on Wednesday that is worth a total value of $1.9 million according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Browns selected Mitchell in the sixth round.

++ Second-round pick Nate Allen remains unsigned, but he is already involved in team functions. Allen, Eagles head coach Andy Reid and former Eagle Vince Papale – he’s the guy made famous by the ‘Invincible’ movie a couple of years ago – participated in a fundraiser for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, writes Tom Waring of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A random thought: I think in 10 years, we’ll be talking about Allen as the best NFL player from this group. Just my opinion, but the guy has the tools and appears to be a total class act in my short time around him.

++ George Selvie, drafted in the seventh round by the Rams, recently signed a deal to begin his professional career. His former high school coach at Pensacola Pine Forest, Jerry Pollard, sees a renewed confidence in Selvie, writes D.C. Reeves of the Pensacola News-Journal.

++ Speaking of the Rams, they also signed Murphy to a contract on the same day as Selvie. For a look at their contract details, the St. Louis Globe-Dispatch breaks it down for you.

++ Former Bulls LB Kion Wilson didn’t get drafted, but he signed a free agent with the Chargers and is already drawing positive reviews for his work ethic.

This note from Christopher Smith of Chargers.com might sound familiar:

FIRST OFF THE FIELD: Undrafted rookie linebacker Kion Wilson is always the first Chargers player into the locker room after practice.

Helmet in hand, No. 42 sprints off the field. Not because he’s anxious to leave, but because it’s his way to memorialize brothers Kellon and Darius.

“(The tradition) started in college,” Wilson said. “I had tragedy strike in my family. I lost two of my brothers. I just dedicate my run to them every day. I take the initiative to run on and off the field every day. That’s just one of the little things that I can do in remembrance of them.”