The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Sports

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It took some waiting and patience, but four Bulldogs found new homes on Sunday in the later rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft.

It wasn't until the fifth round that Marcus Howard, the first Bulldog selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the 161st pick overall, .

Howard, who led the Bulldogs with 10.5 sacks this season, also is projected to see playing time at outside linebacker in the Colts' Cover-2 defense.

"I think it's a great fit for me, the type of player I am," Howard said on the Colts' Web site. "I think I'm going to come in and help the team out."

Howard will join former teammate Tim Jennings, who was a 2006 second-round choice of the Colts.

Running back Thomas Brown became the second Bulldog to be picked in the draft. He was taken by the Atlanta Falcons with the sixth pick in the sixth round and 172nd overall.

Brown, who starred at Tucker High School in Tucker, was excited about joining the Falcons.

"It's been a dream of mine, especially coming from Georgia and being born in the city of Atlanta," Brown said on AtlantaFalcons.com. "Now having the opportunity to play professional football with the Falcons is like a dream come true for me."

The Falcons now have drafted three former Georgia players in the last three years with the seventh-round choice of quarterback DJ Shockley in 2006, the fourth-round pick of tight end Martrez Milner in 2007 and now Brown.

Georgia had two players selected in the seventh and final round of the draft: offensive guard Chester Adams and kicker Brandon Coutu.

Adams was selected as the 222nd pick overall by the Chicago Bears and is expected to provide depth on the offensive line.

Coutu, who is the most accurate kicker in Bulldog history, was picked by the Seattle Seahawks as the 235th pick overall. Coutu converted on 53 of 66 field goal attempts in his Georgia career including a career-long 58-yarder against Louisiana-Monroe in 2005.

Coutu will compete with Olindo Mare for the starting kicking position. The last Georgia kicker drafted by the Seahawks was John Kasay in the 1991 NFL Draft.

For Fernando Velasco, Brandon Miller, Sean Bailey, and Kregg Lumpkin, the chance of playing in the NFL still exists in free agency. Last year, former Bulldogs Danny Ware and Tony Taylor each were able to impress teams and earn a roster spot in training camp.

Next year's draft provides much more upside for the Bulldogs as rising junior quarterback Matthew Stafford will be draft-eligible along with rising redshirt sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno.

According to some who already have begun forecasting the 2009 draft, both Stafford and Moreno are projected to be top 10 picks in 2009 mock drafts if they choose to enter the draft.

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