For some reason I've always thoroughly enjoyed the NFL draft.
I find it odd because I won't know 80 percent of the players taken and won't care about 90 percent of them or the teams. Yet the draft fascinates me. If you and I are destined to have a conversation this weekend, understand one of my eyes will probably be on a rolling ticker.
My expectations? Three from Mountain State schools will be drafted, all from WVU: center Tyler Orlosky, probably in the third round; receiver Shelton Gibson, probably in the fourth; and defensive back Rasul Douglas, probably in the fourth or fifth. Shepherd tight end Billy Brown has a shot to go late.
I don't foresee any fireworks from state players early though, so I thought I'd have a little fun. I combed through all the players who played in colleges in the state of West Virginia that have been drafted through the years. I even looked at guys like Jack Deloplaine and Orson Mobley from Salem and Len Barnum of West Virginia Wesleyan.
And then I put together my All-West Virginia NFL Draft Team.
Understand I couldn't put a couple of NFL Hall of Fame players on there because, well, they weren't drafted. Farmington and Marshall legend Frank Gatski had to survive a grueling tryout in 1946 to make the Cleveland Browns. Wesleyan's Cliff Battles won the NFL rushing title as a rookie in 1932 for the Boston Braves - later the Washington Redskins - but the performance was four years before Jay Berwanger was selected No. 1 by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first draft.
Anyway, all of my picks ended up as players from either WVU or Marshall. I will, however, appoint NFL Hall of Fame member and Wesleyan alum Earl "Greasy" Neale my coach as a nod to the other schools.
Note I intended to go two deep at all positions, but found it nearly impossible without a severe dropoff. At other positions, I was awash in candidates.
So let's get to it, listed by year drafted and school:
WR - Randy Moss (1998, Rand and Marshall universities; I assume no explanation is necessary); Tavon Austin (2013, WVU; 58 catches in four NFL seasons; still waiting for him to explode, but ...)
WR - Troy Brown (1993, MU; 15 seasons in the NFL, three-time Super Bowl champ); Kevin White (2015, WVU; yes, despite injuries, I'm taking the No. 7 overall pick over productive NFL state products like Willie Drewrey, Danny Buggs and Jerry Porter, all hailing from WVU. Sue me.)
TE - Anthony Becht (2000, WVU; a 12-year NFL pro and the only member of my team to have hosted a show on the Home Shopping Network); Lee Smith (2011, MU; tough call taking Smith over Mobley because the Salem product was a receiving weapon, but Smith has had a longer career.)
OL - Joe Stydahar (1936, WVU; played nine years and is in the NFL Hall of Fame)
OL - Bruce Bosley (1956, WVU; played 14 seasons for San Francisco)
OL - Rich Braham (1994, WVU; played 13 seasons as a guard and center; in Cincinnati he's mentioned in the same breath as Anthony Munoz)
OL - Mark Glowinski (2015, WVU; started all 16 games for Seattle last season)
C - Mike Compton (1993, WVU; played 12 NFL seasons, mostly with Detroit); John Wade (1998, MU; played 11 seasons in the NFL after being drafted by Jacksonville).
QB - Marc Bulger (2000, WVU; surprised? In 10 NFL seasons, Bulger threw for 22,814 yards; no other state product can match that); Chad Pennington (2000, MU; yep, both came out the same year; Pennington had 17,823 passing yards in 11 seasons to nudge Jeff Hostetler and Byron Leftwich, in that order.)
RB - Adrian Murrell (1993, WVU; in nine NFL seasons, Murrell rushed for 5,199 yards); Ahmad Bradshaw (2007, MU; in nine NFL seasons, Bradshaw rushed for almost 5,000 yards and has two Super Bowl rings).
FB - Jim Braxton (1971, WVU; was O.J. Simpson's lead blocker and spent eight years in the NFL, seven with Buffalo); Joe Marconi (1956, WVU; spent 11 years in the NFL with Chicago and Los Angeles, nudging fav Owen Schmitt).
DL - Bruce Irvin (2012, WVU; impact player five years into his NFL career); Jeff Merrow (1975, WVU; spent nine seasons with Atlanta).
DL - John Browning (1996 WVU; very underrated Mountaineer that spent 11 seasons with Kansas City); Vinny Curry (2012, MU; currently on a $46 million contract with Philadelphia).
DL - John Thornton (1999, WVU; played 10 seasons with Cincinnati and Tennessee before becoming an agent); Mike Fox (1990, WVU; split nine NFL seasons with Carolina and the New York Giants).
DL - Renaldo Turnbull (1990, WVU; a Pro Bowl pick in 1993 that spent eight seasons in the NFL); David Grant (1988, WVU; replaced Tim Krumrie in the Super Bowl in which San Francisco and Joe Montana beat Grant's Cincinnati Bengals in the last 34 seconds.)
LB - Sam Huff (1956, WVU; he had a violent world and a Hall of Fame career); Gary Stills (1999, WVU; a 2003 Pro Bowl pick that played nine seasons in the NFL).
LB - Darryl Talley (1983, WVU; played in four Super Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro pick).
LB - Chuck Howley (1958, WVU; played 15 NFL seasons and is the only Super Bowl MVP on a losing team).
S - Karl Joseph (2016, WVU; dynamic player that showed last season why he was taken No. 14 in the draft); Bo Orlando (1989, WVU; played nine NFL seasons, mostly with the Houston Oilers).
S - Mike Logan (1997, WVU; spent 10 seasons in Pittsburgh and Jacksonville); Aaron Beasley (1996, WVU; played nine seasons mostly in Jacksonville).
CB - Adam "Pac-Man" Jones (2005, WVU; somehow the talented and troubled Jones keeps going and going after 11 seasons); Tom Pridemore (1978, WVU; spent eight seasons in Atlanta).
CB - Carl Lee (1983, MU; the pride of South Charleston was a three-time Pro Bowl pick for Minnesota); Chris Crocker (2003, MU; had a very nice 12-year career, mostly with Cincy).
P - Pat McAfee (2009, WVU; averaged 46.4 yards a punt in eight seasons); Todd Sauerbrun (1995, WVU; averaged 44.1 yards in 13 seasons).
Special teams - Ron Wolfley (1985, WVU; was a dynamo in 10 seasons with the Phoenix and St. Louis Cardinals); Fulton Walker (1981, WVU; returned a kickoff in Super Bowl XVII for a touchdown); Chris Massey (2002, MU; the pride of Chesapeake spent 10 years in the NFL as a long snapper.)
So there you have it. Note there are players that were drafted higher yet weren't included like WVU's Brian Jozwiak and Dick Leftridge because they didn't quite pan out. Also, there wasn't a kicker included because Mike Vanderjagt, who had a very successful NFL career, was drafted in the Canadian Football League before moving south.
Enjoy. And debate away.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.