Staff reports
NEW YORK ó For the first time in school history, Appalachian State had three players selected in the 2011 National Football League Draft on Saturday at Radio City Music Hall.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted safety Mark LeGree with the 25th selection of the fifth round (156th overall), the San Francisco 49ers tabbed offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore with the 32nd selection of the fifth round (163rd overall) and the world-champion Green Bay Packers picked linebacker D.J. Smith with the 21st selection of the sixth round (186th overall)
Appalachianís three selections in the seven-round NFL Draft breaks the previous school record of two, which ASU had in 1990 (Derrick Graham and Keith Collins), 1992 (Gary Dandridge and Mike Frier) and 2008 (Dexter Jackson and Corey Lynch).
The Mountaineersí three draftees were as many or more than 38 of the 66 programs that play in automatic-qualifying conferences for the BCS, including 2011 BCS Championship Game participant Oregon and other traditional powers such as Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
ASU was the only non-NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) program with multiple selections in this yearís draft.
LeGree (6-0, 210) is only the second three-time consensus first-team All-American in Appalachian history, joining two-time Buck Buchanan Award winner and three-time NFL Pro Bowler Dexter Coakley. A 6-0, 200-pound senior defensive back, LeGree finished his career as the active leader in NCAA Division I with 22 career interceptions, four more than any other FCS or FBS player active in 2010.
The 22 interceptions are good for second in Southern Conference history and third in ASUís all-time annals. Despite opposing offenses steering away from the ball-hawking safety for much of the year, LeGree picked off five passes as a senior, good for a tie for 20th nationally. He also broke up eight passes and made 49 tackles in his final collegiate campaign.
Kilgore (6-3, 308) anchored Appalachianís prolific offensive front as the starting right tackle for all 13 games in 2010, en route to first-team all-conference and third-team all-America recognition. In 11 regular-season games as a senior, Kilgore amassed 46 knockdowns and 20 pancake blocks while never grading below 81 percent. After spending much of his collegiate career at tackle, Kilgore projects as a guard/center as a pro.
Smith (5-11, 239) led the SoCon and ranked fifth nationally with 144 total tackles while also recording four-and-a-half tackles for loss, two sacks, five quarterback hurries, four pass break-ups, an interception and a fumble recovery as a senior. He finished his career with 525 tackles, the most among all Division I players (FCS or FBS) active in 2010.
His 525 career stops rank fourth in SoCon history and he joined three-time NFL Pro Bowler Dexter Coakley as the only players in ASU history to surpass the 500-tackle plateau. Smith is a three-time all-conference honoree and two-time first-team all-American.
The trio of draftees gives Appalachian 22 all-time NFL Draft picks.
LeGree is the third Mountaineer to be selected by Seattle.