NEW YORK (AP) — Colt McCoy won more football games than any starting quarterback in Division I history.
His accomplishments, however, didn't spare him the agony of waiting until the 85th pick to hear his name called at the NFL draft.
Cleveland selected the Texas quarterback late in the third round, one slot after his favorite target with the Longhorns, Jordan Shipley, went to Cincinnati.
“It has been a long day,” McCoy said after speaking to Browns President Mike Holmgren. “I told him, ‘You won't regret it and we'll win a lot of games.'”
A pair of Huskers had to wait one night longer. Larry Asante and Phillip Dillard are expected to be selected Saturday, when the draft concludes with fourth- through seventh-round picks.
Friday's big crowd at Radio City Music Hall for the second night of the draft had to wait for the big names to go.
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen went 48th overall — more than 40 picks lower than some projected.
Clausen, a three-year regular under Charlie Weis, was 16-18 as a starter after being one of the nation's most sought recruits. The Panthers' choice drew scattered boos, but with Jake Delhomme gone and Matt Moore the incumbent, Carolina seems a good landing spot.
“I think it's going to help me tremendously, being in Coach Weis' system,” Clausen said of the offense run by John Fox in Carolina. “Coach Fox told me he said it was the same exact system I've played in the last three years. I'm really excited about that.”
Clausen kicked off a spurt of more recognizable selections. The first Southern Cal player, safety Taylor Mays, went to San Francisco, followed by Alabama cornerback-kick returner Javier Arenas to Kansas City, and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, the Heisman runner-up, to the Vikings.
Minnesota traded up 11 spots in the second round for Gerhart. The Vikings needed a backup to star runner Adrian Peterson after losing Chester Taylor in free agency.
“It's amazing,” Gerhart said. “I remember when I first started college, Adrian Peterson was the man in college. I remember saying I want to emulate my game after him.”
Wideout Golden Tate, Clausen's college teammate, went 60th overall to Seattle. Perhaps new Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was swayed by Tate's outstanding performance against his USC Trojans last season.
Early on, instead of Heisman Trophy winners and All-Americans, the choices were Indiana tackle Rodger Saffold, Virginia cornerback Chris Cook and UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price. Yes, quality players, but hardly headline makers.
Needing a blocker for quarterback Sam Bradford, the first overall pick the previous night, the Rams ignored several trade offers to stay put. They went for Saffold, an experienced player who started for four seasons with the Hoosiers.
“Oh man, it was a long night,” Saffold said. “Your heart's racing the entire time and I'm just glad St. Louis called. I didn't know how much longer I could have taken it.”
The Rams fielded plenty of bids for the pick.
“We would have had to move significantly back in the second round,” General Manager Billy Devaney said, “and what we were going to get we didn't think it was worth passing up a lineman that we deemed had this much talent.”
Minnesota, which traded out of the first round, has had injury issues at cornerback, so Cook should be helpful. And Tampa Bay's defensive line has been a sieve, which it addressed with the selections of Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy at No. 3 overall and then Price.
Other notables on Day 2: Kansas City got a prime kick returner and receiving threat in 5-foot-8, 165-pound Dexter McCluster of Mississippi; Alabama's 350-pound All-America defensive tackle, Terrence Cody, went to Baltimore; and Cincinnati selected Florida linebacker Carlos Dunlap, who was arrested for DUI in December. The Bengals have a history of bringing in players with off-field issues.
Nebraska didn't have a player chosen Friday.
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