April 24, 2009

Owls in the NFL Draft

The work has never stopped for James Casey and Jarett Dillard from the moment the final gun sounded in Rice's 38-14 win over Western Michigan in the 2008 Texas Bowl.

The pair of record-setting receivers who sparked an Owls' offensive explosion that led to a 10-3 record and the school's first bowl championship since 1954 immediately turned their focus towards a potential professional career.

After months of workouts, countless interviews, and a steady supply of both good wishes from friends, family and fans, the pair will learn this weekend where the next stage of their football careers will begin as the NFL Draft gets underway on Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The NFL Draft begins at 3 p.m. (central) and while neither Casey or Dillard are likely to hear their names called in the first round, the consensus is that Rice will produce its first pair of draft picks since 2003 when Ryan Pontbriand was taken in the fifth round by Cleveland and Brandon Green was picked one round later by Jacksonville.

Their selections were the first for the school since 1997 when N.D. Kalu was tabbed in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Casey has been speculated to fall no lower than the third round. The last Owl to be taken above the fifth round of the draft was Bert Emanuel, who was selected by Atlanta in the second round of the 1994 draft.

In their final season at Rice, Casey and Dillard re-wrote the school and conference record books.

Casey smashed the conference record for receptions, ranking second in the country with 111. He also broke Dillard's single-season record for reception yardage (1,329). He caught 13 touchdowns, ran for six and threw for two more. He became the first player in NCAA history to have two games in the same season in which he ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and threw a touchdown pass in the same game.

Dillard set a total of six NCAA records in his career at Rice and became the Owls' first Football Writers All American in 50 years in 2008. He sent NCAA records for career touchdown receptions (60), career games with a touchdown reception (38), career touchdown passes with the same quarterback (51 w/Chase Clement), most games with a touchdown catch in a season (13) and most consecutive games in a season with a touchdown catch (13). He caught at least two passes in all 49 games of his career, no other player in NCAA history had a streak of that length with multiple receptions in every game.