Eight former Hokies sign as undrafted free agents after NFL lockout is lifted
Darryl Slater
Jul 26, 2011
Eight former Virginia Tech players who went undrafted in April signed NFL free agent contracts Tuesday, a day after the lifting of the league’s lockout enabled them to do so.
Most notably, running back Darren Evans signed with his hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts. He left school with a year of eligibility remaining to enter the draft and wasn’t picked. But he remained undeterred.
“At this point, I’m kind of going to have to do it on my own,” he said after the draft. “It’ll just be business as usual for me. I’ve always been to this point of everybody saying I can’t make it. So I have to do it again.
“I always hit a low before I hit a high. There’s always something like this, man. At this point, I don’t expect it to change. That’s why I’m going to keep going because I know I’ve got something big coming.”
Evans ran for 1,265 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2008 – an ACC freshman record. He missed 2009 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, then came back in 2010 to run for a team-best 854 yards – 5.7 per carry, compared to 4.4 in 2008.
Two local players signed Tuesday as well: safety Davon Morgan of Varina High with the New York Jets and defensive tackle John Graves of Meadowbrook with the Houston Texans.
Defensive end Steven Friday signed with the Texans as well. They now have five former Hokies. The others are linebacker Xavier Adibi, left tackle Duane Brown (Hermitage) and cornerback Rashad Carmichael, a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft.
Also, tight end Andre Smith signed with the Chicago Bears, punter Brian Saunders with the Jacksonville Jaguars, center Beau Warren with the St. Louis Rams and kicker Chris Hazley with the Buffalo Bills.
