All-Time Award Winners Mules’ First-Team All-America Selections Cannon Coleman Czerniewski Davidson Grace Green Grimes Hebert Huff Meyer Peoples Puni Ricketts Taylor Urczyk Warren Weatherington Woods Wright Mules’ First-Team All-Americans Name ...................... Pos. Year Jim Urczyk . OT 1968 Steve Huff . PK 1985 Phil Grimes . DE 1986 Jeff Wright . NG 1987 Mark Peoples . FS 1988 Bart Woods . DE 1992 Bart Woods . DE 1993 Shane Meyer . PK 1997 Colston Weatherington . DE 1999 Kegan Coleman . RB 2003 Roderick Green . DE 2003 Darryl Grace . OL 2005 Kendall Ricketts . FS 2006 Kendall Ricketts . FS 2007 Eric Czerniewski . QB 2010 Jamorris Warren . WR 2010 David Cannon . TE 2011 LaVance Taylor . RB 2014 Seth Hebert . TE 2017 Derrick Puni . OL 2018 Zach Davidson . TE 2019 28 FOOTBALL UCM FOOTBALL RECORD BOOK • UCMATHLETICS.COM Mules in the Pros The Mules’ most successful pro football player is Jeff Wright, who played for seven seasons (1988-94) with the Buffalo Bills and was their starting nose tackle in four Super Bowls. Chosen in the eighth round of the 1988 NFL Draft, Wright became the first player from Central Missouri to make an NFL team’s regular-season roster. A two-time first-team All-MIAA selection, he was MIAA Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Wright was also a first-team All-American as a senior and led the team with 119 tackles and 7.5 sacks. Wright is the only Mules’ football player to have his uniform number (79) retired. He also has established a football scholarship in his name at UCM and was a 1994 inductee into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame. Roderick Green, who was selected in the fifth round by the Baltimore Ravens in the spring of 2004, is the highest any UCM football player has ever been drafted. He saw action in five NFL seasons, playing his first two in Baltimore and the last three with the San Franciso 49ers, finishing his career after the 2008 season. He was a 2013 inductee into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame. Tight End Delanie Walker is the Mules most recent draft choice (sixth round), signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 2006. In his seventh full season he played in all 16 games, and recorded 21 catches for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He helped the 49ers win the NFC Championship and recorded three catches for 48 yards in Super Bowl XLVII. He signed a four-year, $17.5 million contract in the summer of 2013 with the Tennessee Titans. Walker has been named to three straight NFL Pro Bowl’s from 2015-17 and was a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2015. Wide receiver Todd Devoe had a stint with the Denver Broncos where he caught his first NFL touchdown pass in 2005. He also played with Toronto in the CFL and in the Arena League for the Jeff Wright became the first Mules player to Orlando Predators. He was a 2014 inductee into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame. make an active NFL roster. He played seven seasons for the Buffalo Bills and started at Two other former Mules were also active in the Arena Football League. Colston Weatherington nose guard in four Super Bowls. was drafted in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Weatherington, who Photo Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills decided to pass up his final year of eligibility with the Mules, was the 207th player taken in the draft. He was released by the Cowboys in 2003, but signed as a free agent with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. He was a four-time first-team All-AFL pick on defense and was named the AFL Lineman of the Year in 2008. He was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. Kevin Nickerson, meanwhile, was named to the AFL All-Rookie team in 2005. His last action was with the Orlando Predators in 2008 and he had 73 receptions for 871 yards and 13 touchdowns as a wide receiver/defensive back and has been named All-Arena League two times. He also played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, and in 2003 he pulled in eight passes for 103 yards. He has played for three different teams in the Arena League. He was a 2008 inductee into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame. The Mules have had 11 players drafted by NFL teams and 66 have signed professional free agent contracts. The year listed for the draft picks is the last year each player competed with the Mules. The year listed for the free agents is the UCM school year in which they signed. NFL Draft Picks Year Player Position Round Team 1966 Keith Browne WR 13th round Green Bay Packers 1967 * Mike St. Louis OT 13th round Washington Redskins (St. Louis played briefly for the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League) 1968 John Mack RB 17th round Green Bay Packers 1969 Larry Roberts RB 13th round Cleveland Browns 1970 Eddie Coates WR 15th round Detroit Lions 1972 Walter Rhone DB 14th round Los Angeles Rams 1977 Henry Mason WR 11th round Baltimore Colts 1987 * Jeff Wright NG 8th round Buffalo Bills 1999 * Colston Weatherington DE 7th round Dallas Cowboys 2003 * Roderick Green DE 5th round Baltimore Ravens Roderick Green was the highest draft pick in 2006 * Delanie Walker TE 6th round San Francisco 49ers UCM history, going in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He is seen here sacking Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart in 2007. Photo Courtesy of Jason Jenkins, San Francisco 49ers *appeared in at least one professional regular season game UCM FOOTBALL RECORD BOOK • UCMATHLETICS.COM @UCMMULES • @UCMFootballTeam • #teamUCM FOOTBALL 29 Mules in the Pros Free Agents * Jason Hennigh, OL, Sioux City (IFL) 1923 * Lamont Truitt, DB, Sioux City (IFL) * Ernie Windburn, E, St. Louis 2001-02 * Sox Werner, B, St. Louis * Chris Jackson, DB, Orlando (AFL) 1940 * Shane Meyer, K, Norfolk (AF2) * Argyle Wakeman, E, Cincinnati * Mike Orlando, DB, Sioux City (IFL) 1961 * Mike Armstrong, DE, St. Louis (IFL) Jerry Boyce, RB, St. Louis 2002-03 1963 * Kenneth Bouie, DL, Buffalo (AFL) Jim D’Alesio, DB, Denver * Kevin Nickerson, WR, Tulsa (AF2) 1968 * Joe Johnson, OL, British Columbia (CFL) Clark Frost, WR, Philadelphia Cable Davis, QB, Edmonton (CFL) 1969 2003-04 * Garret Hunsperger, DT, British Columbia * Kevin Nickerson, WR, Saskatchewan (CFL) Kevin Nickerson was named to the Arena Football (CFL) League All-Rookie Team in 2004 after leading Henry White, FB, Philadelphia Todd Devoe, WR, Baltimore the Austin Wranglers in receiving, scoring, and 1971 Dennis Gile, Saskatchewan (CFL) tackles. Photo Courtesy of the Austin Wranglers John Mack, LB, Kansas City Joe Johnson, OL, Dallas 1973 2004-05 * John Mack, LB, Jacksonville (WFL) * Kevin Nickerson, WR/DB, Austin (AFL) * Walter Rhone, DB, Chicago (WFL) * Colston Weatherington, TE/DL, Dallas 1974 (AFL) Raymond Bass, WR, Kansas City * Kenneth Bouie, DL, Peoria (UIF) 1975 * Jason Vanloo, LB, Peoria (UIF) Bruce Reed, LB, Kansas City * Kegan Coleman, RB, Saskatchewan (CFL) Carlos Greene, RB, Kansas City * Todd Devoe, WR, Denver (NFL) 1976 Joe Johnson, OL, Toronto (CFL) Steve Eskew, OT, Atlanta Chase Ward, OL, Houston (NFL) 1980 2005-06 Marcus Dixon, WR, Dallas Maurice White, DL, Oakland (NFL) Curtis Antrum, DB, Kansas City * Joe Johnson, OL, Tulsa (AF2) Colston Weatherington spent a year with the 1981 * RoShawn Marshall, Calgary (CFL) Dallas Cowboys, and then was a starting DT/TE with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football * Toriano Porter, Lincoln (IFL) Rick Williams, RB, St. Louis League. Photo Courtesy of the Dallas Desperados 1985 2006-07 Jim Bauwens, TE, Br. Columbia (CFL) Toby Korrodi, QB, Arizona (NFL) 1987 Todd Devoe, WR, Saskatchewan (CFL) Phil Grimes, DE, L.A. Raiders 2007-08 1988 Kendall Ricketts, FS, Toronto (CFL) Elliott Eley, FB, New Orleans Saints 2010-11 Alvin Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers Jamorris Warren, WR, Carolina (NFL) 1991 DeMarco Cosby, TE, St. Louis (NFL) Mark Peoples, DB, New York Giants 2011-12 1993 Jamar Howard, WR, NY Giants (NFL) Vince Jordan, WR, Washington Redskins Anthony Stewart, RB, British Columbia 1994 (CFL) Henry Caldwell, RB, San Diego Chargers 2012-13 DeMarco Cosby, TE, Green Bay/Kansas City 1995 Todd Devoe made his mark in NFL Europe in * Mike Armstrong, DT, Memphis (CFL) (NFL) 2004 before scoring a touchdown for the Denver Broncos against the Eagles in 2005. Ron Florine, OT, Kansas City Chiefs Logan Freeman, OL, Oakland Raiders (NFL) Photo Courtesy of the Denver Broncos 1996 2013-14 Ron Florine, OT, Houston Oilers DeMarco Cosby, TE, Tennessee (NFL) 1997 *Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee (NFL) * Ron Florine, OT, Scottish Claymores 2014-15 (WLAF) Cullen Rosine, TE, New Orleans (NFL) 1998 LaVance Taylor, RB, Ottawa/BC (CFL)/ Paul Kaiser, QB, Buffalo (AFL) Kansas City (NFL) 1999 2015-16 Craig Koontz, DE, British Columbia (CFL) Brian Berzanski, OL, Arizona (NFL) 2000 2016-17 * Byron Mays, DL, Norfolk (AF2) LaVance Taylor, RB, Montreal (CFL) * Kenneth Bouie, DL, Peoria (IFL) 2017-18 * John Davis, DL, Peoria (IFL) Garrett Fugate, QB, Montreal (CFL) * Dexter Ford, RB, Peoria (IFL) Delanie Walker is the second-highest pick in UCM Connor Flagel, DL, Tennessee (NFL) history as he was drafted in the sixth round by * Kevin Diepenbrock, OL, Sioux City (IFL) 2018-19 the San Francisco 49ers in the 2006 NFL Draft. He * Jason Graham, RB, Sioux City (IFL) signed a free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans Derrick Puni, OL, Dallas (NFL) before the 2013 season. * Stanley Williams, DB, Sioux City (IFL) *appeared in at least one professional regular season game Photo Courtesy of the Tennessee Titans 30 FOOTBALL UCM FOOTBALL RECORD BOOK • UCMATHLETICS.COM.