April 24, 2005

LAS VEGAS - Before Sunday, remarkably, only one linebacker who played football at UNLV had ever been selected in the NFL Draft.

Now there are three.

Finally joining Tom Polley, who was drafted in the eighth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1985, is a pair of record-setting former UNLV players who were both taken in the fifth round of the annual event held in New York this weekend.

Inside linebacker Adam Seward, who left as the all-time leader in total tackles for both his school and the Mountain West Conference with 433, was chosen 149th overall by the Carolina Panthers. Outside LB Ryan Claridge, who led the MWC with nine sacks last season and holds the UNLV and league record with 10 career forced fumbles and finished third in the record book with 293 takedowns, went just 21 picks later, 170th to the two-time defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.

Overall, it marked only the second time since 1988 that multiple players were selected in the same year (joining a foursome in 2002) and also continued a trend of the Rebels getting defensive as eight of the last nine UNLV draftees have come from that side of the ball. The only offensive player from the program to be taken in the last decade was center Dominic Furio, who was picked in the seventh round by the Eagles just last spring.

Also interesting: Seward, a graduate of Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, is the first Rebel alum to be taken by the young Carolina franchise while Claridge, a native of Almont, Mich., and younger brother of former NFL offensive lineman Travis Claridge, is the first-ever New England draft pick from UNLV.

A number of other Rebels, including two-time All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer, UNLV career receiving yards leader Earvin Johnson and 2004 MWC rushing king Dominique Dorsey, are expected to sign free agent contracts in the coming days.