Star college quarterback Jimmy Clausen had to wait until selection No. 48 before being picked up by the Carolina Panthers on the second day of the NFL draft on Friday.
After the first round on Thursday, the selections on Friday were about teams looking for some bargains and the Panthers would not have reckoned on Clausen still being available that late.
The former Notre Dame quarterback had been projected by some to be a first-round choice.
Clausen was 16-18 as a college starter after being one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits. The Panthers’ choice drew scattered boos from the crowd, but with Jake Delhomme gone and Matt Moore the incumbent, Carolina seems a good landing spot.
“[Offensive] coach [John] Fox told me, he said it was the same exact system I’ve played in the last three years. I’m really excited about that,” Clausen said.
Clausen kicked off a spurt of more anticipated selections — and three all-Americans. Safety Taylor Mays went to San Francisco, followed by cornerback-kick returner Javier Arenas to Kansas City and running back Toby Gerhart, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, to Minnesota.
The Vikings traded up 11 spots in the second round for Gerhart, a rarity as a white running back, and also a top baseball prospect.
The Vikings needed a backup to star runner Adrian Peterson after losing Chester Taylor in free agency.
“I’m there to complement the best running back in the league, Adrian Peterson,” Gerhart said. “I remember when I first started college, Adrian Peterson was the man in college. I remember saying I want to emulate my game after him.”
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was finally drafted, 85th overall, by Cleveland. That was one slot after his favorite college receiver, Jordan Shipley, went to Cincinnati.
Wide receiver Golden Tate went 60th overall to Seattle.
St Louis were looking for a blocker for quarterback Sam Bradford, who went at No. 1 on Thursday, and ignored several trade offers to stay put. They went for experienced tackle Rodger Saffold.
“Oh man, it was a long night,” Saffold said. “Your heart’s racing the entire time and I’m just glad St Louis called.”
Minnesota, who traded out of the first round, have had injury issues at cornerback, so went for Chris Cook, while Tampa Bay’s defensive line has been a sieve, which it addressed with the selections of Gerald McCoy at No. 3 overall and then Brian Price on Friday.
Other notables on Day 2: Kansas City got a prime kick returner and receiving threat in slightly-built Dexter McCluster; giant defensive tackle Terrence Cody went to Baltimore; and Cincinnati selected linebacker Carlos Dunlap, who was arrested for drink-driving in December last year.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS