Colorado University Athletics
NFL Draft: Dizon, Wheatley 2nd Round Selections
BOULDER ? University of Colorado senior inside linebacker Jordon Dizon and cornerback Terrence Wheatley were both selected in the second round in the 2008 National Football League Draft Saturday.
No other Buffaloes were selected in the five rounds on Sunday, but several are expected to sign as free agents. Offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus has already signed with the Denver Broncos, and two other Buffs have mini-camp tryouts this weekend: tailback Hugh Charles with the Cleveland Browns and tight end Tyson DeVree with the New England Patriots. A few other seniors are still in talks with NFL teams about possible tryouts.
Dizon, a 6-0, 230-pound four-year letterman, was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 45th overall pick of the draft; Wheatley, a 5-10, 180-pounder who also earned four letters, was the 62nd overall pick and was taken by the New England Patriots.
Dizon was a consensus All-American in 2007, when he finished as one of two runner-ups for the Butkus Award. Both Dizon and Wheatley earned All-Big 12 Conference honors.
Colorado and Oklahoma were the only two Big 12 schools to have two player selected among the 63 drafted Saturday; Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and Texas A&M all had one selected.
The last Buffalo to be selected as high as the second round was tight end Joe Klopfenstein, who was also a second round pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2006. The last time two Buffs had been selected by the end of the second round was in the 2002 draft, when three players were drafted into the league: tight end Daniel Graham (1st round, New England), guard Andre Gurode (2nd round, Dallas) and safety Michael Lewis (2nd round, Philadelphia).
Dizon is the 13th player to be drafted out of Colorado by the Lions, the highest since 1972, when Detroit selected defensive end Herb Orvis in the first round, the 16th pick overall. Dizon was the 45th overall selection this year; Klopfenstein was the 46th; Dizon is thus the highest Buff selected since 2003, when defensive end Tyler Brayton was the last pick of the first round (32nd overall) by the Oakland Raiders.
Two of the most popular CU players in history were also picked by the Lions, wide receiver Jeff Campbell (5th round, 1990) and Butkus Award-winning linebacker Matt Russell (4th round,1997).
Wheatley is the 11th Buffalo to be selected in the draft by New England, the first since Graham in 2001. Three picks played at least seven players with the club, center Pete Brock (1976-87), tight end Don Hasselbeck (1977-83) and linebacker Ted Johnson (1995-2004).
Just hours earlier, Detroit beat Colorado 5-1 in game two of the NHLGÇÖs Western Conference playoff series; perhaps karma thus dictated that something nice happen in return between the two states, which of course are forever linked by Sept. 24, 1994, when Kordell StewartGÇÖs ?Hail MaryGÇÖ Pass to Michael Westbrook beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dizon had been forecast to go anywhere between the second and fourth rounds, but those forecasts often donGÇÖt hold up.
Wheatley is headed to Massachusetts, which of course is home to the Boston Red Sox who swept the Colorado Rockies in last fallGÇÖs World Series. Wheatley had figured to be a second day pick by many of the experts, but his true 4.37 speed had many scouts buzzing.
QUOTES FROM TEAM TELECONFERENCES BELOW
DIZONGÇÖS CAREER NOTES
At Colorado, he finished fourth in total tackles (440), first in solo stops (293), first in third down stops (48), 11th in TFLGÇÖs (35), and 21st in sacks (12). He had 21 career double figure tackle games: he had two as a frosh but amazingly never had more than six in a game his sophomore season. He ended his career as the nationGÇÖs second leading active tackler, trailing Central MichiganGÇÖs Red Keith, who logged 465.
DIZON'S 2007 SEASON NOTES
CUGÇÖs defensive captain as selected by his teammates, he was ColoradoGÇÖs first consensus All-American since 2001 when tight end Daniel Graham earned unanimous honors; he was the first Buff linebacker to earn the distinction since Matt Russell in 1996. The Associated Press, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation all selected him first-team (three of the five services officially recognized by the NCAA), as did rivals.com and Phil SteeleGÇÖs College Football. He was a runner-up for the Dick Butkus Award, presented to the nationGÇÖs top linebacker, and as one of three finalists was present in Orlando, Fla., for the awards ceremony. He was also one of 15 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and one of eight semifinalists for the Ronnie Lott Award. He was the coachesGÇÖ choice for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, CUGÇÖs first on defense since 1992. The recipient of CUGÇÖs Zack Jordan Award as the teamGÇÖs most valuable player and the Dave Jones Award as the most outstanding defensive player, he also received the Buffalo Heart Award, presented by the fans. A first-team All-Big 12 performer (Associated Press, league coaches and all major publications), he finished second in the nation in tackles (160 by CU count, 149 by NCAA press box counts), and led the NCAA in solo tackles with 120 (107 press box). The 160 tackles were the fifth most in school history for a single season, but the 120 shattered the old mark of unassisted stops by 15. Tops in the Big 12 in both categories, he was also seventh in the conference in tackles for loss (0.92 per game) and was 13th in the league in sacks (0.33 per). He started all 13 games including the Independence Bowl, and played all but 34 of the teamGÇÖs 830 snaps on defense during the regular season. He was involved in 25 tackles for zero or minus yardage, as he tied for the team lead with 11 for losses and led the Buffs with 14 stops for zero. He had 19 third down stops, which broke the school record by one, and added four quarterback sacks, eight hurries, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, a touchdown save, one caused interception and two near sacks. He made the first two interceptions of his career, returning the first for 37 yards at Baylor and the second for 42 yards and a touchdown at Texas Tech. Dizon posted 10 or more tackles in the final eight games of the season (and in 13 of the last 14 dating back to the end of the 2006 season); the lone exception was when he had five in the Miami-Ohio game (when the first-team defense was out there for only 42 plays). He had 22 stops (17 solo) in the season opener against Colorado State, tied for the 17th most in school history, and the most since ILB Hannibal Navies recorded 28 (19 solo) against Missouri in 1997. The 17 solo tackles tied for the third most in a game, trailing only Navies as well as ILB Greg Biekert, who had 19 at Illinois in 1990. He followed that effort up with 17 tackles at Arizona State, including four third down stops and three for losses, and was recognized as CUGÇÖs Male Athlete of the Week for both games; the coaches named him the defensive player of the week for the Colorado State and Baylor games (he had 15 tackles and an interception in the latter). He closed the regular season with 16 tackles against Nebraska (12 solo). He added two more tackles on special teams, and had five points in all, with two knockdown blocks and a recovered blocked punt against Nebraska. Against Alabama in the bowl game, he racked up 14 tackles (9 solo) with two third down stops. In the spring, the coaches selected him as the recipient of the Eddie Crowder Award, recognizing his outstanding leadership.
WHEATLEYGÇÖS CAREER NOTES
On ColoradoGÇÖs all-time lists, he tied for third in interceptions (14), tied for seventh in pass deflections (29), second in kickoff return yards (1,350) and kickoff returns (56). He set single-season records in 2007 for the most kickoff returns (37) and yards (919).
WHEATLEYGÇÖs 2007 SEASON NOTES
He started the first 10 games of the regular season at left cornerback until being sidelined for the last two with a hairline fracture in his foot, but came back to start in the Independence Bowl. He earned third-team All-America honors from Rivals.com, and was tabbed as a first-team All-Big 12 performer by the Associated Press and the league coaches; the coaches selected him as an honorable mention pick at kick returner. He was on the official watchlist for both the Bronko Nagurski Award (one of 54 candidates) and the Jim Thorpe Award (one of 35). He had 42 tackles on the season (32 solo), with four third down stops, and five interceptions; he ranked second in the conference and 10th in the NCAA in interceptions per game. He tied a school record when he became the first Buffalo in 25 years to intercept three passes in a game when he stole three at Texas Tech off Graham Harrell; the last to do it was Victor Scott at Oklahoma State in 1982. For his effort, Wheatley was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Football WriterGÇÖs National Player of the Week; he also earned Big 12 and NFF/Colorado Chapter AOW honors and earned an ESPN GÇ£Helmet Sticker.GÇ¥ In addition to the three picks in that game, he also had seven tackles (all solo) and a PBU. He had seven tackles (five solo) and a PBU against Kansas State, and had six tackles against Colorado State and Kansas. In the CSU game, his interception in the endzone ended Colorado StateGÇÖs overtime possession, with the Buffs then winning when they had their first shot. At Arizona State, he returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the first minute of the game to give CU a 7-0 lead. He was exciting with the ball, and though never breaking one all the way, he did average 24.8 yards on kickoff returns, which was good for eighth in the conference and 42nd in the NCAA. Against Alabama in the bowl game, he was in on five tackles (three solo), with a pass deflection.
CONFERENCE CALL WITH LIONS LB JORDON DIZON (courtesy Detroit Lions PR)
On how he feels to be coming to Detroit: GÇ£IGÇÖm loving it. IGÇÖm excited ? IGÇÖm very excited. IGÇÖm a water person and you guys have the great lakes, so thatGÇÖll be fun for me.GÇ¥
On it being different than Kauai (Hawaii): GÇ£I heard there are still waves and itGÇÖs better than Colorado. We donGÇÖt have any water here.GÇ¥
On how he thinks heGÇÖll fit in with the Lions: GÇ£You know, they love players that will play. They donGÇÖt like players that want to (B.S.) them or stuff like that. I came here and told them exactly how I felt and exactly what was on my mind and I guess they liked that. They respect that in a player and thatGÇÖll theyGÇÖll get the best out of me. Whatever happened, it worked.GÇ¥
On what he told the Lions: GÇ£You know, itGÇÖs really about me. I told them, ?hey, IGÇÖm a small guy, but youGÇÖll get the best out of me in every play that I play.GÇÖ I didnGÇÖt (B.S.) them at all and they liked that.GÇ¥
On whether heGÇÖs always had a chip on his shoulder about his size: GÇ£Oh man, I mean when I was in Hawaii ? letGÇÖs be honest I was the biggest guy there ? and I came to Colorado and I was six feet, 190 pounds and started at linebacker in every game since IGÇÖve been there. Every time someone says,GÇÖ heGÇÖs too small, heGÇÖs too small to be great, heGÇÖs too small to do this and blah, blah, blah,GÇÖ after awhile you get sick of it and you go, ?Hey, I donGÇÖt think size matters here after awhile.GÇÖGÇ¥
On whether he feels heGÇÖs big enough to play middle linebacker in the NFL: GÇ£Oh, yeah. I played in college and you say playing middle linebacker in college is different than the NFL, well I played in the Big 12, thatGÇÖs a pretty tough conference to play in and I have to play against their offensive linemen and maybe a quarter of them go into the NFL. I did it in college, I did it in the Big 12 and IGÇÖm pretty sure I can do it in the NFL. IGÇÖm actually guaranteeing I can do it in the NFL.GÇ¥
On whether he knows DE Ikaika Alama-Francis: GÇ£No, I donGÇÖt know him. WhatGÇÖs the centerGÇÖs name? (Dominic) Raiola, yeah, I met him when I was there and we got to talking and heGÇÖs from Hawaii and weGÇÖre both from Hawaii, but he went to Nebraska and I went to Colorado and you know how thatGÇÖs a huge rivalry, so we kind of gave each other (crap) for that.GÇ¥
On being compared to former LionsGÇÖ LB Chris Spielman: GÇ£I heard that. Matt Millen actually told me about him. I looked him up and it seems like he was a heck of a player. Hopefully I can live up to that and if people are comparing me to him, thatGÇÖs nice.GÇ¥
LIONS PRESIDENT & CEO MATT MILLEN
Opening statement: GÇ£With our second pick, obviously, we took Jordon Dizon. HereGÇÖs the main thing with him: this is a guy who has great instincts; he has great field presence; heGÇÖs very good in space; excellent vision. HeGÇÖs a guy also who can play all three positions. WeGÇÖll put him in the middle, but he also helps us on special teams; he can play (weakside), he can play (strongside), he can play inside. His versatility is attractive. The one thing that he has that you canGÇÖt teach is great instincts. As soon as I watched him, the first thing that hit me was his instincts and it kind of reminded me of ? heGÇÖs kind of a cross between Kurt Gouveia and Tedy Bruschi, that type of player who plays with great feel. HeGÇÖs a nickel backer, he can do a lot of different things but the main thing is heGÇÖs got great presence.GÇ¥
On whether there are concerns about DizonGÇÖs size: GÇ£HeGÇÖs 230 right now; he was 229 when he was here. You want him to get a little bit bigger, but thatGÇÖs usually what you get when youGÇÖre getting a kid out of school like that. WeGÇÖll get him a little bigger.GÇ¥
On whether heGÇÖll be the middle linebacker: GÇ£He can play all three is the answer to that question, but, yeah, I would like to see him inside. ThatGÇÖs what we talked about. But at the least, at the least, heGÇÖll upgrade in the special teams, heGÇÖll upgrade your depth all of the way across but weGÇÖll put him in the middle. ThatGÇÖs where he should learn right now.GÇ¥
On putting him at one spot and keeping him there: GÇ£And heGÇÖll learn ? heGÇÖs a real bright kid too.GÇ¥
On whether heGÇÖll be the starting middle linebacker: GÇ£WeGÇÖll wait and see. ThereGÇÖs a learning curve there ? whenever you bring a kid in regardless of what it is. HeGÇÖll pick it up too, heGÇÖs a bright guy.GÇ¥
On media analysts saying Dizon is a MillenGÇÖs type of linebacker: GÇ£I think what theyGÇÖre talking about is: this is a kid, when you watch the game, he just jumps off the tape on you. HeGÇÖs very involved; heGÇÖs always around the football. Again, he plays by feel; heGÇÖs got great instinct, thatGÇÖs probably his greatest asset. All the other things you can teach, those things you canGÇÖt teach.GÇ¥
On whether former Lions LB Stephen Boyd was an instinctive linebacker: GÇ£Yeah, Stephen had very good feel also.GÇ¥
On media analystsGÇÖ concerns about DizonGÇÖs ability to play on passing downs: GÇ£Nah, heGÇÖs pretty good in space though. HeGÇÖs pretty good in space ? unless they were talking about if they matched him up in man (coverage) and stuff like that. But he was their nickel backer; we can put him in packages. WeGÇÖll have to get him a little bit bigger, but hey, he played a lot of football in a good football conference against some outstanding (players).GÇ¥
On his college career stats: GÇ£I donGÇÖt know all the numbers. All I know is: when you put the tape on, heGÇÖs in on all of the plays.GÇ¥
On whether theyGÇÖll move LB Paris Lenon to the strong-side: GÇ£ThatGÇÖs a possibility; thatGÇÖs one of the things you look at. But again, you can take a guy and just throw him in there but he still has to earn it and he still has to learn it, he still has to train and figure it all out. That will take care of itself in due course.GÇ¥
LIONS HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI
On whether Dizon will start in the middle: GÇ£I think youGÇÖve got to look at him. What you like is: heGÇÖs got the ability to play all three spots ? thatGÇÖs really nice. HeGÇÖs athletic, very athletic. Probably more than athletic, heGÇÖs instinctive. His instincts are... I think it shows up in his career tackles; he has 463 tackles in his career; the guy is all over the field; heGÇÖs got a great feel for the game; heGÇÖs bright. We had him up here for a visit. HeGÇÖs a special guy; he really is a special person.GÇ¥
On the comparisons to former Lions LB Chris Spielman: GÇ£ThatGÇÖs his whole deal ? a productive, high energy guy. HeGÇÖll bring something special into the locker room also, not doubt.GÇ¥
On whether theyGÇÖll move LB Paris Lenon over to the strong-side: GÇ£Well, not yet. I think weGÇÖre going to bring him in and get him into the rookie mini-camp and see where he fits. WeGÇÖve just got to see him. HeGÇÖs a football player. The bottom line: this kidGÇÖs a player.GÇ¥
On whether heGÇÖs talked to Lenon about changing positions: GÇ£I think Joe (Barry) has. ItGÇÖs just whatever fits our system and whatever our needs are. WeGÇÖve just got to get the right guys on the field. But right now, you bring a guy in and we just need to look at him. ThereGÇÖs a lot of stuff that goes on inside.GÇ¥
On whether they feel like theyGÇÖve drafted two starters: GÇ£Yeah ? I think (DizonGÇÖs) got a chance, no doubt about it. HeGÇÖs got to come in (so we can) look at him and then put him in a position to go compete for (a starting job). Both these guys are real good competitors, thatGÇÖs what I like about them. I think really theyGÇÖve got great tempo to them and the instincts and the awareness and stuff like that. TheyGÇÖre not measurable guys so much as they are football players.GÇ¥
On what theyGÇÖll be looking for in the second day: GÇ£WeGÇÖre looking for good players, obviously... duh (laughter). You want to go out and just keep looking for guys that are productive players. I think the chances of missing go down when itGÇÖs about production on film. So I think I just want to keep working with that in terms of: their ability to play this game; what weGÇÖve seen on tape; the instincts and production and then after this thingGÇÖs over we can just sit and look at this board very hard for tomorrow.GÇ¥
On how moving up in the third round helped them: GÇ£It really does ? that helps. We can see that tonight when this thing gets cleaned off and kind of see whoGÇÖs there, who we like and who can help us immediately.GÇ¥
On whether what heGÇÖs seen on film becomes even more important on the second day of the draft: GÇ£I just donGÇÖt doubt it. Those guys are usually there, not because they were high measurable guys, you usually like them because they play good football.GÇ¥
On whether he was surprised on the run on linemen early in the draft: GÇ£I think you just donGÇÖt know which way itGÇÖs going to fall; whoGÇÖs going to go first, but you know: it starts up front. It always has. If you can find good players there at those line positions, thatGÇÖs the key to football.GÇ¥
On whether he was surprised there were not wide receivers picked in the first round: GÇ£Not really ? it really didnGÇÖt. I just thought it was really deep in terms of some front-seven players. The o-line, I felt was deep and I think the runners are fairly deep.GÇ¥
CONFERENCE CALL WITH PATRIOTS CB TERRENCE WHEATLEY (courtesy New England Patriots PR)
Q: For those who havenGÇÖt seen you play can you define your style of play and how you view it?
TW: My style of play I guess is very consistent. I donGÇÖt give up a lot of big plays. I try to make as many big plays as possible. I really donGÇÖt pattern my game off of anybody, but I do try to learn from pretty much every corner in the league. All the corners in the league are obviously there for a reason. I definitely try to learn from everybody. My style of play is a little bit of everything. Little bit of physical, little bit of speed and a little bit of smarts. A little bit of everything.
Q: What were your expectations coming into the draft? Did you expect to be a first day pick?
TW: I really didnGÇÖt think about it too much. I really wanted to go into it and enjoy the moment with my family and my friends. It was a situation that a lot of people donGÇÖt get the opportunity to enjoy, so I didnGÇÖt want to worry about it too much. Whatever happened, happened. The way the draft works, itGÇÖs such a circus on draft day. Everybody has their pre-draft board and mock drafts and all that, but at the end of the day when it comes time for the draft everything kind of changes and today was no different. I just wanted someone to give me a chance, and the Patriots gave me that and that to me is awesome.
Q: What were you doing when you got the call?
TW: When I got called, I was actually just walking out of my bedroom. I went to go change. My parents had the air conditioning on and it was a little bit cold. I went to go grab a coat and thatGÇÖs when the phone rang. I put the phone down and it showed up as an unknown call, so I thought, ?Yeah that probably could be important,GÇ¥ so I picked it up and low and behold it was the Patriots. I ran down stairs to tell everyone to keep quiet so I could hear. Then I had to run outside to talk on the phone because they were all yelling and screaming at that point. It was just very exciting.
Q: How did you develop your speed? It seems like that would be a big part of your game?
TW: I was always a track guy when I was a kid. I always wanted to play football as a kid but my parents felt like I was a little bit too small for that. You know how moms are. Moms donGÇÖt want their little babies to get hurt. IGÇÖm the oldest, so they didnGÇÖt want the oldest to get hurt. So [I] ran track and thatGÇÖs something that I would do, but I always tried to work on speed. Speed kills, and, especially at this position, itGÇÖs very difficult to make plays if you donGÇÖt have speed. If you take a false step or anything, your speed has to be able to catch you up and take care of that mistake. I do all sorts of stuff with it, pulling tires, running extra hills, doing extra leg work. I try to get my legs as strong as humanly possible. I do a lot of speed training. I do a whole bunch of track workouts just to keep the speed up.
Q: YouGÇÖve had your share of wrist injuries. Do you feel that you are past that? Are you hindered in any way or do you think youGÇÖll be okay heading into training camp?
TW: ItGÇÖs not an issue at all. I played with it for a whole year. ItGÇÖs not a big deal. ThereGÇÖs really nothing more to say than that. I played the whole year with it and IGÇÖve proven that I can play with it. ItGÇÖs completely healthy, so IGÇÖm going to go out there in training camp and see what I can do.
Q: You made a name for yourself in the return game. How much do you think your contribution on special teams made you an attractive pick for the Patriots?
TW: I think it helped a lot. When you come in as a rookie, number one, you have to be able to play both positions. They donGÇÖt want somebody that plays just one. So when you have multiple things that you can do, that definitely adds to your draft value. So I think that helps a lot, but it also shows my toughness, too. When you look at the number of plays I play on defense, I rarely come out, and then IGÇÖm still on every special teams outside of field goal. That does say a lot about you as a football player, not necessarily just an athlete. Obviously youGÇÖre an athlete, but you have to be a real tough guy to do that, because youGÇÖre playing an extra 20-30 snaps every game than everybody else. You have to be in extra shape and everything, so I think that definitely helped me a lot in this draft, especially with the Patriots.
Q: You had a lot of tackles the last couple of years. Do you like a physical style of play? Do you like mixing it up in the run game?
TW: ItGÇÖs fun. ItGÇÖs fun. I love it. ItGÇÖs fun. Especially, I guess, because everybody perceives me as a little guy. ItGÇÖs always nice to come in and give it to the running back every once in a while and kind of show him that IGÇÖm a little dude but IGÇÖm not going to back down from you. So I like to mix it up from time to time. Why not? ItGÇÖs football. ItGÇÖs a contact sport. I definitely love it.