April 22, 2010
While most college graduates are actively seeking out jobs, several UCF football players hope to have lucrative jobs come to them as the NFL holds its annual Entry Draft at New York City's fabled Radio City Music Hall.
In a dramatic change of scheduling, the first round will be drawn beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday with the second and third rounds starting at 6 p.m. on Friday. Rounds four through seven will take place on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. Both ESPN and NFL Network will broadcast the entire event live.
Two-time All-Conference USA selection Torell Troup (Conyers, Ga.) has been impressing scouts all over the nation since the conclusion of his senior season. NFL experts have Troup joining the long list of Knights in the NFL sometime in the third round. Other UCF football players such as Ian Bustillo (Miami, Fla.), Jarvis Geathers (Andrews, S.C.), Michael Greco (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Cory Hogue (Naples, Fla.), Rocky Ross (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Travis Timmons (Gainesville, Fla.) look to expand upon UCF`s 16 NFL active roster players, the most of any Conference USA school.
Within the state of Florida, only the University of Florida (three) had more players drafted in 2009 than UCF. Florida State, Miami and USF also had one player picked apiece. In 2008, UCF tied Florida State and Miami for the most of any team in the state with three. Over the 2008-09 drafts combined, only Florida (five) has had more players selected state-wide than UCF's four.
Since joining Conference USA for the 2005 season, UCF is tied for the most players drafted of any team in the league with its six, matching UTEP. UCF and East Carolina share the distinction of being the lone C-USA schools with least one player drafted in each of the past four seasons.
This week, the Knights will also have a player selected in the NFL Draft for the fifth consecutive year for the first time in school history. UCF previously had runs of three straight years with a draftee from 1991-93, 2002-04 and the active four-year streak from 2006-09.
Overall, the Knights have had a player selected in seven of the last eight NFL Drafts. UCF is one of five schools from non-automatically qualifying BCS conferences which can make this claim, joining BYU, Fresno State, Hawaii and San Diego State.
To see the next wave of future NFL superstars come through Bright House Networks Stadium, get your 2009 UCF football season tickets today! Ticket information is available online at UCFAthletics.com or by calling (407) 823-1000.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home for UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.