Weathersby Is Just Happy to Be Chosen

Dennis Weathersby, the Oregon State cornerback who eight days earlier was considered a potential first-round draft pick, was grateful Sunday that the Cincinnati Bengals are giving him a chance.

“I’m going to take advantage of my opportunities,” said Weathersby, recovering at home in Duarte from a gunshot wound he suffered in a drive-by shooting on Easter. “You never know, the next day is not a given.”

Weathersby waited through the first three rounds of the draft Saturday, hoping to hear his name, but it was not called. The Bengals ended the suspense with the first pick of the day Sunday, grabbing him in the fourth round with the 98th selection.

The shooting happened when Weathersby was in Duarte with a friend and a white sports utility vehicle drove past. Someone fired a shot that entered Weathersby’s back, passed just below his lung and wound up lodged in his left arm. The bullet just missed vital organs, although Weathersby said he lost “half the blood in my body.” His friend frantically drove 10 minutes to a nearby hospital. Weathersby lost consciousness along the way but told reporters Sunday he remembers thinking: “I hope I don’t die. I hope I don’t get a serious injury. I hope I can walk.”

Cincinnati reporters who spoke to Weathersby on a conference call said he sounded fatigued but upbeat. He’ll miss the team’s voluntary mini-camp next weekend and will be out of action for at least a month. He expects to be ready for training camp, however. The bullet is to be removed this week.

“I think this has been a life-turning experience for him, and something that will get him pointed in the right direction,” Bengal Coach Marvin Lewis said. “It will be up to us to keep him pointed in the right direction.”

Lewis spoke to Weathersby on the phone Saturday night in part to get a first-hand assessment of the player’s character and values. Some scouts said their teams shied away from Weathersby after he gave what some saw as a half-hearted performance at the combine. The shooting only heightened that concern.

“At the combine he was a little lackadaisical,” an NFC personnel executive said. “That was the general consensus. It’s, how important is football to him? That scares you.”

That said, Weathersby was a good student at Oregon State and made the Pacific 10 Conference All-Academic team four consecutive years. He graduated in December -- after only 3 1/2 years of college -- with a 3.26 grade-point average and a liberal studies degree.

For the moment, though, he has too little energy to do much of anything.

“All I do now pretty much is lie down, watch television and eat three meals,” he said. “I’m trying to get the blood back in my body.”

He said he’s also going to counseling to cope with the memory of the shooting, as is his friend. He said it hurts him that NFL teams doubt his character simply because he comes from a rough neighborhood and was shot while he was home celebrating Easter weekend with his family.

“I wasn’t too sure if I was going to be picked,” he said. “You keep hearing stuff about attitude and character. That’s been tough.”

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A day after three of their USC teammates were selected in the first three rounds, Trojan receiver Kareem Kelly and running back Malaefou MacKenzie were chosen Sunday.

Kelly went to New Orleans in the sixth round with the 203rd pick. Jacksonville chose MacKenzie in the seventh round with the 218th pick. On Saturday, quarterback Carson Palmer went No. 1 to Cincinnati, safety Troy Polamalu was chosen 16th by Pittsburgh, and running back Justin Fargas was taken by Oakland in the third round. The last time the Trojans had five players drafted was 2000.

USC players who signed free-agent deals with teams after the draft are offensive lineman Zach Wilson (Detroit), safety DeShaun Hill (New York Jets), cornerback/kick returner Darrell Rideaux (Indianapolis) and defensive lineman Bernard Riley (Tampa Bay). According to his agent, running back Sultan McCullough has had conversations with a couple of teams.

Two UCLA players were drafted -- tight end Mike Seidman and cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., both third-round picks by Carolina on Saturday. The Bruins who signed free-agent deals Sunday are punter Nate Fikse (San Francisco), linebacker Marcus Reese (San Francisco) and tackle Mike Saffer (Atlanta).

Among other players with local ties selected Sunday: Oregon tight end George Wrighster (Sylmar High) went in the fourth round to Jacksonville; Arizona State linebacker Solomon Bates (Canyon Springs High) went in the fourth to Seattle; California offensive lineman Scott Tercero (Loyola High) went in the sixth to St. Louis; Oregon receiver Keenan Howry (Los Alamitos) went in the seventh to Minnesota; Kansas State receiver Taco Wallace (Canoga Park High and Mt. San Antonio College) went in the seventh to Seattle; and Michigan safety Charles Drake (Westchester) went in the seventh to the New York Giants.

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Associated Press contributed to this report.