Five Hokies taken on final day of NFL Draft

It was a big day for five former Virginia Tech football players as Chris Ellis, Xavier Adibi, Carlton Powell, Josh Morgan and Justin Harper were all selected in the 2008 NFL Draft, being held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Combined with yesterday’s three picks, Tech had eight players taken in the Draft, the second-biggest haul in school history.

The eight picks were the second most in this year’s draft from a single school, trailing only USC’s 10.

Ellis (Hampton, Va.) was the first to go on the second day, as he was taken with the ninth pick of the third round, 72nd overall, by the Buffalo Bills. Linebacker Xavier Adibi (Hampton, Va.) will join Duane Brown in Houston as Adibi was taken with the 19th pick of the fourth round, the 118th pick overall. Along with Brown, former Hokies Brandon Frye and Andre Davis also play for the Texans.

Carlton Powell (Chesapeake, Va.) became the third “757†player of the day drafted from Tech as he went to the Denver Broncos with the 13th pick of the fifth round, 148th overall. He joins Eddie Royal, who was taken in the second round by the Broncos yesterday.

A pair of receivers went next as Josh Morgan (Washington, D.C.) will be headed out west to San Francisco. He was taken with the eighth pick of the sixth round, the 174th overall selection. In the seventh round, Justin Harper (Catawba, N.C.) was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the eight pick of the round, 215th overall.

The eight Hokies drafted are tied for the second-most in school history. Tech had nine players taken in the 2006 Draft and eight were selected in the 2002 Draft.

Overall, the ACC had 34 players taken with Tech easily leading the way with eight. Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest all had three players taken with Clemson, North Carolina and NC State providing two players each. Maryland had one player taken. Duke was the only ACC school without a draft pick.

This decade, the Hokies have had at least two players taken in every Draft and 46 total (5 in 2000; 3 in 2001; 8 in 2002; 2 in 2003; 5 in 2004; 3 in 2005; 9 in 2006; 3 in 2007 and 8 in 2008).

Look for several Tech players who weren’t drafted to ink free agent deals in the next 24-48 hours.