Syracusecards
DA's pass went that way
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2004
- Posts
- 4,378
- Reaction score
- 4,616
Former COC Back Goes 44th in NFL Draft
4/24/2005
Grant Parpan [Signal Sports Editor]
Former College of the Canyons running back J.J. Arrington became the second Cougar in as many years to be selected in the NFL Draft, Saturday.
The 5-9, 214-pound running back, who led the nation in rushing with 2,018 yards while playing for Cal-Berkeley this past season, was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 44th overall pick.
“It’s great,” Arrington told the Signal as he watched the draft with friends and family at his family’s residence in Nashville, N.C. “I wanted to go to Arizona anyway, because I enjoy playing there.”
The Cardinals’ selection of Arrington marks the third consecutive year in which a former Santa Clarita football player has been selected in the draft. Kyle Boller of Hart High, also a Cal graduate, was selected 19th overall in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003. Isaac Sapoaga, Arrington’s former teammate at COC, was chosen in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s draft.
Arrington and Sapoaga, along with Jamall Broussard of the Carolina Panthers, give COC three former players now in the NFL.
“I feel good because it shows that hard work will pay off and that’s what that program is all about,” said Arrington of COC football.
Arrington, the fourth running back taken in the draft, may get a chance to play against each of his former teammates this season. The Cardinals will travel to Mexico to play the 49ers in the NFL’s first-ever game in Mexico on Oct. 2. They’ll host Carolina the following Sunday.
“That'll be fun,” Arrington said. “To see some former Cougars out there that have shared the same experiences to get to this level.”
While Sopoaga, a defensive lineman who played his final two collegiate seasons at Hawaii, missed all of his rookie season with a back injury, Broussard was effective returning kicks for the Panthers in his rookie campaign last season.
Arrington, on the other hand, should see significantly more playing time than either of the other two.
The second-round selection heads to a team whose starting tailback from a year ago, Hall of Fame-bound back Emmitt Smith, retired in February.
Being selected in the second round was about where Arrington was projected to go by most prognosticators, despite being the only NCAA Division I back to rush for more than 100 yards in every single game last season.
The feeling amongst most NFL scouts seemed to be that Arrington might be too small, something Cardinal head coach Dennis Green wasn’t turned off by.
“I think that backs come in all shapes and sizes,” said the second-year Arizona head coach at a press conference in New York, Saturday.
The Cardinals were rumored to have a deal in the mix to obtain running back Travis Henry from the Buffalo Bills, but called the deal off when Arrington was available.
“We kept communication up with Buffalo until the time of the pick,” said Arizona V.P. of Operations Rod Graves at the same press conference.
Said Green of the proposed trade: “There was no way that we could determine the market value of a player who missed all of last season (Henry) and still had a year left on his contract.”
In the end, the franchise felt the consensus first team All-American Arrington was the way to go.
Now Arizona will have three backs competing for the job as Arrington joins returnees Marcel Shipp and Troy Hambrick in a crowded backfield.
Shipp missed the entire season in 2004 with a broken leg and ankle suffered in training camp. The 5-foot-11, 230-pound back rushed for more than 800 yards in each of the previous two seasons. In 11 career starts, he has scored just six rushing touchdowns.
He’s expected to be ready by opening day.
Hambrick’s finest season came in 2003 when he rushed for 972 yards and five touchdowns, starting all 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys after being tabbed as Emmitt Smith’s replacement.
But the 6-foot-1, 233-pound back only averaged 3.5 yards per carry in ‘03 and soon found himself sharing carries with Smith again in Arizona.
In 10 games off the bench for the Cardinals last season, Hambrick amassed 283 yards and one score on 63 carries.
“We have a lot of guys that think they’re a starter,” said Green. “Troy thinks he’s a starter, Marcel thinks he’s a starter and J.J thinks he can come in and start for us. We have a lot of guys that are gonna fight it out and that’s a good thing for us.”
Said Arrington of what the Cardinals told him: “They said that they wanted me to step right in and play.”
Larry Croom is the only other tailback on the Cardinals’ roster, giving them four total. They released seldom-used back Larry Ned in March.
The Cardinals, 6-10 last season, selected cornerback Antrel Rolle from Miami with their first pick, eighth overall.
Running back and cornerback were the team’s biggest concerns heading into the draft.
The cornerback spot was made an even bigger concern when the Cards traded veteran corner Duane Starks to New England for a third-round pick in March.
Arizona has had a relatively busy off-season thus far, having already signed several veteran free agents; including quarterback Kurt Warner from the New York Giants, safety Robert Griffith from Cleveland and defensive end Chike Okeafor from Seattle.
Okeafor led the Seahawks with 8.5 sacks in 2004.
The Cardinals concluded Day One of the NFL Draft by selecting cornerback Eric Greene out of Virginia Tech with the 75th overall pick and outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock from Virginia, 95th overall by way of the Starks deal with New England.
Arizona opens up the 2005 season in New York against the Giants on Sept. 11.
The Cardinals’ first exhibition game will be played at home on Aug. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys.
4/24/2005
Grant Parpan [Signal Sports Editor]
Former College of the Canyons running back J.J. Arrington became the second Cougar in as many years to be selected in the NFL Draft, Saturday.
The 5-9, 214-pound running back, who led the nation in rushing with 2,018 yards while playing for Cal-Berkeley this past season, was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 44th overall pick.
“It’s great,” Arrington told the Signal as he watched the draft with friends and family at his family’s residence in Nashville, N.C. “I wanted to go to Arizona anyway, because I enjoy playing there.”
The Cardinals’ selection of Arrington marks the third consecutive year in which a former Santa Clarita football player has been selected in the draft. Kyle Boller of Hart High, also a Cal graduate, was selected 19th overall in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003. Isaac Sapoaga, Arrington’s former teammate at COC, was chosen in the fourth round, 104th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s draft.
Arrington and Sapoaga, along with Jamall Broussard of the Carolina Panthers, give COC three former players now in the NFL.
“I feel good because it shows that hard work will pay off and that’s what that program is all about,” said Arrington of COC football.
Arrington, the fourth running back taken in the draft, may get a chance to play against each of his former teammates this season. The Cardinals will travel to Mexico to play the 49ers in the NFL’s first-ever game in Mexico on Oct. 2. They’ll host Carolina the following Sunday.
“That'll be fun,” Arrington said. “To see some former Cougars out there that have shared the same experiences to get to this level.”
While Sopoaga, a defensive lineman who played his final two collegiate seasons at Hawaii, missed all of his rookie season with a back injury, Broussard was effective returning kicks for the Panthers in his rookie campaign last season.
Arrington, on the other hand, should see significantly more playing time than either of the other two.
The second-round selection heads to a team whose starting tailback from a year ago, Hall of Fame-bound back Emmitt Smith, retired in February.
Being selected in the second round was about where Arrington was projected to go by most prognosticators, despite being the only NCAA Division I back to rush for more than 100 yards in every single game last season.
The feeling amongst most NFL scouts seemed to be that Arrington might be too small, something Cardinal head coach Dennis Green wasn’t turned off by.
“I think that backs come in all shapes and sizes,” said the second-year Arizona head coach at a press conference in New York, Saturday.
The Cardinals were rumored to have a deal in the mix to obtain running back Travis Henry from the Buffalo Bills, but called the deal off when Arrington was available.
“We kept communication up with Buffalo until the time of the pick,” said Arizona V.P. of Operations Rod Graves at the same press conference.
Said Green of the proposed trade: “There was no way that we could determine the market value of a player who missed all of last season (Henry) and still had a year left on his contract.”
In the end, the franchise felt the consensus first team All-American Arrington was the way to go.
Now Arizona will have three backs competing for the job as Arrington joins returnees Marcel Shipp and Troy Hambrick in a crowded backfield.
Shipp missed the entire season in 2004 with a broken leg and ankle suffered in training camp. The 5-foot-11, 230-pound back rushed for more than 800 yards in each of the previous two seasons. In 11 career starts, he has scored just six rushing touchdowns.
He’s expected to be ready by opening day.
Hambrick’s finest season came in 2003 when he rushed for 972 yards and five touchdowns, starting all 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys after being tabbed as Emmitt Smith’s replacement.
But the 6-foot-1, 233-pound back only averaged 3.5 yards per carry in ‘03 and soon found himself sharing carries with Smith again in Arizona.
In 10 games off the bench for the Cardinals last season, Hambrick amassed 283 yards and one score on 63 carries.
“We have a lot of guys that think they’re a starter,” said Green. “Troy thinks he’s a starter, Marcel thinks he’s a starter and J.J thinks he can come in and start for us. We have a lot of guys that are gonna fight it out and that’s a good thing for us.”
Said Arrington of what the Cardinals told him: “They said that they wanted me to step right in and play.”
Larry Croom is the only other tailback on the Cardinals’ roster, giving them four total. They released seldom-used back Larry Ned in March.
The Cardinals, 6-10 last season, selected cornerback Antrel Rolle from Miami with their first pick, eighth overall.
Running back and cornerback were the team’s biggest concerns heading into the draft.
The cornerback spot was made an even bigger concern when the Cards traded veteran corner Duane Starks to New England for a third-round pick in March.
Arizona has had a relatively busy off-season thus far, having already signed several veteran free agents; including quarterback Kurt Warner from the New York Giants, safety Robert Griffith from Cleveland and defensive end Chike Okeafor from Seattle.
Okeafor led the Seahawks with 8.5 sacks in 2004.
The Cardinals concluded Day One of the NFL Draft by selecting cornerback Eric Greene out of Virginia Tech with the 75th overall pick and outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock from Virginia, 95th overall by way of the Starks deal with New England.
Arizona opens up the 2005 season in New York against the Giants on Sept. 11.
The Cardinals’ first exhibition game will be played at home on Aug. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys.
