Red Raiders beat Pioneers in district battle

Teams focus on linemen in Rounds 2 and 3 of draft

Teams took a pass on quarterbacks and turned toward the trenches during the second day of the NFL Draft on Friday night in Detroit. In Rounds 2 and 3, teams combined to select 16 offensive linemen, 10 interior defensive linemen and four edge rushers. The picks might have lacked the pizzazz of Round 1, when six quarterbacks were taken among the top 12 players, but coaches and front-office staff preached the importance of winning the line of scrimmage. The biggest example -- literally one of the biggest at 6-foot-2 and 366 pounds -- was Texas defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat, who went to the Tennessee Titans with the sixth pick of the second round at No. 38 overall. Sweat, who plans to shed some weight, believes he can be a steal of the draft. "I'm going to go down more," Sweat told reporters when asked about his weight. "I can play good at 366. My coach said this past season, ‘Yeah, you played great, but you could have played better at 355 or 350.' ... If I go to 355, 350, most likely I'll be a Hall of Famer." Most teams would be pleased with productive starters coming from Rounds 2 and 3. Before the run on big men, the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers opened the second day of the draft with back-to-back selections of wide receivers. The Bills used the first pick of Round 2 to select Florida State's Keon Coleman, who could provide quarterback Josh Allen with a deep threat after the team traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans this offseason. The Chargers picked Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey moments later with the 34th overall pick. McConkey also could fill a void after Los Angeles sent veteran Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears last month. Four of the next five picks were defensive linemen. The Atlanta Falcons took Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro, the Washington Commanders selected Illinois' Johnny Newton, the Tennessee Titans selected Sweat and the Los Angeles Rams nabbed Florida State's Braden Fiske. The only team that did not beef up its defensive line in that five-pick stretch was the New England Patriots, who drafted Washington wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound receiver will team up with rookie quarterback Drake Maye, whom the Patriots took at No. 3 overall on Friday night. "He's a guy that we had our eyes on for a while," Patriots scouting director Eliot Wolf said. "Really good fit in our offense. He's really tough, he's strong, he can run all the routes. ... (He's) really just kind of a versatile, do-everything type guy." Four straight cornerbacks went off the board from picks No. 40-43. The Philadelphia Eagles started the run by drafting Cooper DeJean, an All-American out of Iowa whom many had projected as a first-round pick. The next three picks included Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry to the New Orleans Saints, Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter to the Texans and Rutgers cornerback Max Melton to the Arizona Cardinals. Texas' Jonathon Brooks was the first running back to be selected this year. The Carolina Panthers picked Brooks at No. 46 overall after he rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games with the Longhorns in 2023. In the third round, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh reunited with one of his top defensive players from Michigan when the team drafted Wolverines linebacker Junior Colson at No. 69 overall. Cameras showed Harbaugh singing Michigan's fight song in the Chargers' war room. Three more Michigan players were drafted back-to-back-to-back later in the round. The Rams selected running back Blake Corum at No. 83, the Pittsburgh Steelers took wide receiver Roman Wilson at No. 84 and the Cleveland Browns zeroed in on offensive lineman Zak Zinter at No. 85. No quarterbacks were selected on the draft's second day. Prospects including Spencer Rattler of South Carolina and Michael Pratt of Tulane will hope to hear their names called Saturday as the draft concludes with Rounds 4-7. --Field Level Media

As the Cowboys went on the clock with the 56th-overall selection, their second-round pick turned into a call to defensive end Marshawn Kneeland out of Western Michigan.

Five-star wing Liam McNeeley, one of the best available high school prospects in the Class of 2024, announced Friday he will join two-time defending champion UConn. "I'm dialed in from Storrs," McNeeley said on social media, confirming multiple reports that he had committed to Dan Hurley and the Huskies. McNeeley is ranked the No. 18 overall prospect in his class by the 247Sports composite. He decommitted from Indiana last month. The native of Texas also considered Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and other schools. "It felt like a perfect fit," McNeeley told ESPN. "Coach Hurley is a hard-nosed coach. That's the kind of coach I thrive under. The offensive system they run is perfect for my game. The culture of the team. The sets they run. They are going to help me get better on both sides of the ball. The whole coaching staff are good people." The McDonald's All-American is a sharpshooter who reportedly made 45 percent of his 3-pointers as a high school senior. He will help fill the vacancy left by Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, two of UConn's starters last year who have each run out of college eligibility. Spencer shot 44 percent from deep and Newton scored a team-high 15.1 points per game. --Field Level Media

Lamont Butler, who starred for San Diego State in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, will play his final year of college basketball at Kentucky, multiple reports said Friday. Butler entered the transfer portal Wednesday after four seasons with the Aztecs. He averaged 7.7 points, 2.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals over 131 career games (102 starts). Butler permanently etched his name in San Diego State lore by swishing a buzzer-beating shot as time expired to give the Aztecs a 72-71 victory over Florida Atlantic in the 2023 Final Four. He was crucial to the Aztecs' run to the national title game, putting up 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals and shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range in those six tournament games before San Diego State fell to UConn in the final. This past season, Butler had a career-high 9.3 ppg to go with 3.0 assists, 2.6 boards and 1.5 steals and was named the Mountain West's Defensive Player of the Year. Kentucky is rebuilding its roster under new coach Mark Pope after John Calipari left to take the same job at Arkansas, leading to a slew of transfers and decommitments. --Field Level Media

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. confident, eager to start career

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., whose selection by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday stunned many draft experts, smiled through most of his introductory news conference Friday in Atlanta. "A dream came true," the former University of Washington star said. "It's a dream I've had since I was a little kid. ... It's a special moment and something I will forever remember." Penix's excitement far overshadowed any concern over his position in the draft. "I'm here to do whatever I can to help this team win football games," he said. "As far as what anybody else feels about the decision that was made, I have no control over that. All I can control is what I do and what I bring to this team. "For me I know that I'm gonna be a great leader not just on, but off the field as well. I'm gonna be a great person and great teammate as well." As amicable as he seemed Friday, it was clear Penix has no shortage of confidence. "Personally, I feel like I'm the best quarterback out of the draft," he said. "I'm excited that I landed here and I'm excited to get started." He was repeatedly asked whether he had any problem with the Falcons' succession plan, with Penix sitting behind No. 1 quarterback Kirk Cousins. "I'm going to put in a ton of work," he said. "There's not going to be a beat missed. ... You got to be ready. I'm gonna prepare, I'm gonna work just as (if) I'm the starter." The Falcons recently signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract, and the veteran QB was "confused" about the selection but reached out to Penix. "Kirk he's an amazing guy," Penix said, adding that Cousins contacted him after the pick was made but wouldn't divulge details of their conversation. "I'm gonna keep it between me and him right now but it was definitely a good conversation, and I'm super excited to work with him -- and he said he's the same with me." Penix, the fourth quarterback drafted Thursday night out of a record-tying six first-round QB picks, led the Huskies to last season's national championship game where they were beaten by the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan's quarterback, JJ McCarthy, was selected 10th by the Minnesota Vikings and Oregon's Bo Nix went 12th to the Denver Broncos. The draft's first three picks were quarterbacks: USC's Caleb Williams (to the Bears), LSU's Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and North Carolina's Drake Maye (Patriots). Penix was asked about comparisons with another Falcons left-handed signal-caller, Michael Vick, and said Vick was his favorite quarterback growing up. "He did great things here, obviously," Penix said. "I keep in contact with him. He's been a guy that I can reach out to whenever. He actually sent me a text congratulating me this morning." Penix said a recent visit to Seattle by the Atlanta coaches to see him throw apparently cemented their belief. "It's different whenever you see it up close, in person," he said. "I feel like I did a very good job in the workout. ... "I feel like the offense is very good for me. ... I felt very comfortable and confident with all of it." -Field Level Media

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