Sun Shines on Florida Prospects : NFL Teams Draft 7 From Sunshine State in the First Round

It was a different kind of draft:

--USC and Oklahoma were shut out of the first round.

--The state of Florida dominated the scene with seven of Sunday’s first-round choices, including three Florida Gators.

Two others are Miami Hurricanes, and two are from Florida State--Deion Sanders and Sammie Smith.

Sanders, the Seminole cornerback who batted four for four on his first day at a New York Yankee farm team this spring, will now choose between baseball and the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons, who drafted him No. 5.

Smith, the 220-pound Seminole running back, was drafted No. 9 by the Miami Dolphins, who think he’s a cross between Larry Csonka and O.J. Simpson.

“They play good high school football in Florida,” Ram Coach John Robinson said. “And those three (Miami, Florida State and Florida) are three powerful teams.”

--After UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman was signed, sealed and delivered to the Dallas Cowboys Thursday as the top pick in this year’s lottery, Tony Mandarich of Michigan State became Sunday’s top-drafted player, going as expected, to the Green Bay Packers.

Mandarich is a Canadian-born, 310-pound big eater--six or seven meals a day--who as an offensive tackle ran sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting last December.

So he began his NFL career by demanding more money from the Packers than the $11.2 million Aikman got from Dallas.

“I’m not (being) arrogant,” Mandarich said. “I’m just trying to be honest. I’m the No. 1-rated player coming out of college, so I should be paid the most.”

In the class of 1989, Mandarich is, indeed, top rated on all the lists. On a scale of 10, he has been getting 8.5s or 8.6s. He and Deon Sanders are the only two over 8. Aikman has been scoring in the 7s--from 7.1 to 7.6.

Mandarich, however, will be lucky to get half of what the Cowboys are paying Aikman. His problem is that quarterbacks sell more tickets.

Even so, “I want to be the best offensive lineman ever in this league,” Mandarich said.

--The Chicago Bears came out of the first round with two players, but their NFC Central rival, the Minnesota Vikings, came out of the first day with the best available player.

The best proven player, in any case.

Or as Coach Jerry Burns said after the Vikings got Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Merriweather, 28, in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers:

“If you line Mike up against the blue-chip players (in the draft) . . . he’s not Mandarich, Aikman or Sanders, who still have to prove themselves.”

A candidate for the Pentecostal ministry, Merriweather, who played in three Super Bowls in his first six NFL years, sat out the last season when the Steelers’ final offer was in the $400,000 range, considered much too low for a valuable linebacker today.

Merriweather thinks Pittsburgh General Manager Dan Rooney was just trying to get rid of him.

“It’s like when (Josef) Stalin came to power in Russia,” the ex-Steeler said. “He purged the whole party.”

Merriweather signed for a reported $700,000 to become the highest paid Viking, demonstrating that General Manager Mike Lynn, whatever his notoriety for underpaying rookies, is still rewarding quality.

Meanwhile, Bear Coach Mike Ditka, with the 11th and 12th shots on the first round, moved to catch the Vikings’ defensive team by drafting a defensive back and defensive lineman--cornerback Donnell Woolford of Clemson and end Trace Armstrong of Florida.

There are questions about Woolford’s speed and Armstrong’s size, though by reputation both are hitters.

Or as Ditka, comparing Armstrong to Bear defensive end Dan Hampton, said: “Trace is our kind of player.”

--The Detroit Lions got the running back with the best chance to make their new run’n’shoot offense work, Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State, who, in that system, could lead the league in ground gaining as a rookie.

Known for his unemotional approach, Sanders quoted another famous stoic, Hall of Famer John Unitas, who used to say: “I’m emotional at funerals and weddings, but football is just a game.”

--After Armstrong went to the Bears, Florida sent two others into the first round, David Williams, who becomes the latest of many first-round offensive linemen chosen by the Houston Oilers, and safety Louis Oliver, who might strengthen the Miami Dolphins’ 28th-ranked defense.

--The Washington Redskins, who came up short of runners for their one-back offense last season, traded for two veterans, gaining Gerald Riggs, 28, from Atlanta and Earnest Byner, 26, from Cleveland.

The Redskins sent two high choices--their No. 2 pick this year and No. 1 next year--to Atlanta. The Browns got a Washington kick returner, Mike Oliphant.

If either Riggs or Byner can make the Redskins run, they figure they’ll return instantly to Super Bowl contention. For they can now restore Kelvin Bryant to his role as the league’s best third-down spot back.

Tony Settle, last year’s rookie sensation, made Riggs expendable in Atlanta.

“(Riggs is) one of the most durable backs I’ve ever seen,” said Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs.

--The biggest gambling of the day was done by the Cleveland Browns. First they traded up with Denver to draft a running back-receiver-kick returner named Eric Metcalf, who stands under 5-10, weighs under 180, and runs the 40 under 4.5. Then they traded their 1990 No. 1 to Green Bay for a 6-4 wide receiver from Auburn, Lawyer Tillman.

Metcalf is the son of former NFL player Terry Metcalf. Tillman isn’t really a lawyer. They’ll be the Mutt and Jeff of the Cleveland rookie camp.

“We filled our needs in the free agent draft,” Cleveland President Art Modell said. “So today, we could go after the great players.”

--Four linebackers and four running backs went in the first 14 chosen. The three running backs in the first nine were Barry Sanders, Tim Worley of Georgia, taken by Pittsburgh, and Sammie Smith.

WHO WAS DRAFTED FIRST: POSITION-BY-POSITION

The last of the 1988 All-America teams, based on the first players drafted at their positions:

OFFENSE

Pos. Player No. College Pro Team WR Hart Lee Dykes 16 Oklahoma State Patriots WR Andre Rison 22 Michigan State Colts TE Shawn Collins 27 Northern Arizona Falcons OL Tony Mandarich 2 Michigan State Packers OL Andy Heck 15 Notre Dame Seahawks OL Brian Williams 18 Minnesota Giants OL Joe Wolf 17 Boston College Cardinals OL David Williams 23 Florida Oilers QB Troy Aikman 1 UCLA Cowboys RB Barry Sanders 3 Oklahoma State Lions RB Tim Worley 7 Georgia Steelers

DEFENSE

Pos. Player No. College Pro Team DL Burt Grossman 8 Pittsburgh Chargers DL Trace Armstrong 12 Florida, ASU Bears DL Wayne Martin 19 Arkansas Saints DL Bill Hawkins 21 Miami (Fla.) Rams LB Derrick Thomas 4 Alabama Chiefs LB Broderick Thomas 6 Nebraska Buccaneers LB Eric Hill 10 LSU Cardinals LB Jeff Lageman 14 Virginia Jets DB Deion Sanders 5 Florida State Falcons DB Donnell Woolford 12 Clemson Bears DB Steve Atwater 20 Arkansas Broncos DB Louis Oliver 25 Florida Dolphins

THE FIRST THREE ROUNDS

Sunday’s Round 1, 2 and 3 selections in the National Football League college draft (positions listed are those projected by the drafting teams, not necessarily those played in college). Remaining round-by-round picks are on Page 15.

ROUND 1

No. Team Player Pos. School 1 Dallas Troy Aikman QB UCLA 2 Green Bay Tony Mandarich OT Michigan State 3 Detroit Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma State 4 Kansas City Derrick Thomas LB Alabama 5 Atlanta Deion Sanders DB Florida State 6 Tampa Bay Broderick Thomas LB Nebraska 7 Pittsburgh Tim Worley RB Georgia 8 San Diego Burt Grossman DE Pittsburgh 9 Miami Sammie Smith RB Florida State 10 Phoenix Eric Hill LB LSU 11 Chicago, from Los Angeles Donnell Woolford DB Clemson Raiders 12 Chicago, from Washington Trace Armstrong DE Florida 13 Cleveland, from Denver Eric Metcalf RB Texas 14 New York Jets Jeff Lageman LB Virginia 15 Seattle, from Indianapolis Andy Heck OT Notre Dame 16 New England Hart Lee Dykes WR Oklahoma State 17 Phoenix, from Seattle Joe Wolf OG Boston College 18 New York Giants Brian Williams OG Minnesota 19 New Orleans Wayne Martin DE Arkansas 20 Denver, from Cleveland Steve Atwater DB Arkansas 21 Rams Bill Hawkins DE Miami, Fla 22 Indianapolis, from Andre Rison WR Michigan State Philadelphia 23 Houston David Williams OT Florida 24 Pittsburgh, from Minnesota Tom Ricketts OT Pittsburgh 25 Miami, from Chicago Louis Oliver DB Florida 26 Rams, from Buffalo Cleveland Gary RB Miami (Fla.) 27 Atlanta, from Shawn Collins WR Northern Arizona Cincinnati Shawn Collins WR Northern Arizona 28 San Francisco Keith DeLong LB Tennessee

ROUND 2

No. Team Player Pos. 29 Dallas (then traded Steve Wisniewski OG to Raiders) 30 Detroit John Ford WR 31 Cleveland, From Lawyer Tillman WR Green Bay 32 Kansas City Mike Elkins QB 33 Tampa Bay Danny Peebles WR 34 Pittsburgh Carnell Lake DB 35 Cincinnati, from Atlanta Eric Ball RB 36 Chicago, from Miami John Roper LB 37 San Diego Courtney Hall C 38 Atlanta,from Raiders, Ralph Norwood OT through Wash. 39 Dallas, from Wash. Daryl Johnston RB through Raiders 40 Phoenix Walter Reeves TE 41 Denver Doug Widell OG 42 New York Jets Dennis Byrd DE 43 New England Eric Coleman DB 44 Seattle Joe Tofflemire C 45 Rams, from Indianapolis Frank Stams LB 46 New Orleans Robert Massey DB 47 Denver, from Cleveland Warren Powers DE 48 Rams Brian Smith LB 49 Philadelphia Jessie Smalls LB 50 Houston Scott Kozak LB 51 San Diego, from New Billy Joe Tolliver QB York Giants 52 Minnesota David Braxton LB 53 Rams, from Buffalo Darryl Henley DB 54 Chicago Dave Zawatson OT 55 Cincinnati Freddie Childress OG 56 San Francisco Wesley Walls TE

No. School 29 Penn State 30 Virginia 31 Auburn 32 Wake Forest 33 N. Carolina State 34 UCLA 35 UCLA 36 Texas A&M; 37 Rice 38 LSU 39 Syracuse 40 Auburn 41 Boston College 42 Tulsa 43 Wyoming 44 Arizona 45 Notre Dame 46 N.C. Central 47 Maryland 48 Auburn 49 Eastern Kentucky 50 Oregon 51 Texas Tech 52 Wake Forest 53 UCLA 54 California 55 Arkansas 56 Mississippi

ROUND 3

No. Team Player Pos. 57 Dallas Mark Stepnoski OG 58 Green Bay Matt Brock DE 59 Detroit Mike Utley OG 60 Kansas City Naz Worthen WR 61 Pittsburgh Derek Hill WR 62 Atlanta Keith Jones RB 63 New England, from Tampa Marv Cook TE 64 New York Giants, from San Diego Bob Kratch OG 65 Chicago, from Miami Jerry Fontenot OG 66 Washington Tracy Rocker DT 67 Phoenix Mike Zandofsky OG 68 Dallas, from Raiders Rhondy Weston DE 69 Denver Darrell Hamilton OT 70 New York Jets Joe Mott LB 71 Seattle Elroy Harris RB 72 Indianapolis Mitchell Benson DT 73 New England Chris Gannon DE 74 Green Bay, from Cleveland Anthony Dilweg QB 75 Rams Kevin Robbins OT 76 Philadelphia Robert Drummond RB 77 Houston Bubba McDowell DB 78 New York Giants Greg Jackson DB 79 New Orleans Kim Phillips DB 80 Minnesota John Hunter OT 81 Philadelphia, from Chicago Britt Hager LB 82 Buffalo Don Beebe WR 83 Cincinnati Erik Wilhelm QB 84 San Francisco Keith Henderson RB

No. School 57 Pittsburgh 58 Oregon 59 Washington 60 N. Carolina State 61 Arizona 62 Illinois 63 Iowa 64 Iowa 65 Texas A&M; 66 Auburn 67 Washington 68 Florida 69 North Carolina 70 Iowa 71 Eastern Kentucky 72 TCU 73 SW Louisiana 74 Duke 75 Michigan State 76 Syracuse 77 Miami (Fla.) 78 LSU 79 N. Texas State 80 Brigham Young 81 Texas 82 Chadron State 83 Oregon State 84 Georgia

NOT WORTH REPEATING: For USC quarterback Rodney Peete, Sunday turned out to be most a disappointing day. Mal Florence’s story, Page 9.