NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE 280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573 WWW.NFLMedia.com Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NFL-29 5/16/06 DE LA SALLE & LONG BEACH POLY LEAD HIGH SCHOOLS WITH THREE PLAYERS EACH TAKEN IN 2006 NFL DRAFT; 11 SCHOOLS SEND TWO EACH; 240 SCHOOLS REPRESENTED They range from A.J. Diamond High School in Anchorage, Alaska to West High in Plano, Texas. A total of 240 high schools contributed the 255 players selected in the seven rounds of the 2006 NFL Draft on April 29-30, the league announced in a study released today. Leading the pack with three players each were De La Salle High School of Concord, California and Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. Eleven schools had two players selected and 227 high schools had one player drafted. The drafted players share fond memories of their high school football days and remember the lessons they learned. “My high school coach always taught me to have a plan in mind,” says the draft’s No. 4 overall selection, tackle D’BRICKASHAW FERGUSON of the New York Jets of his high school coach RUSS CELLAN of Freeport (NY) High. “He taught me the importance of staying grounded, never forgetting where you came from, and always trying your best, no matter how hopeless a situation is.” The breakdown of high schools which had multiple players drafted by NFL clubs on April 29-30: MULTIPLE PLAYERS DRAFTED HIGH SCHOOL TOTAL PLAYERS (NFL TEAM/ROUND) De La Salle (Concord, CA) 3 RB Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville/2); LB Kevin Simon (Washington/7); WR Demetrius Williams (Baltimore/4) Long Beach Polytechnic (CA) 3 S Darnell Bing (Oakland/4); T Winston Justice (Philadelphia/2); TE Marcedes Lewis (Jacksonville/1) Cathedral (Indianapolis, IN) 2 DE Mathias Kiwanuka (N.Y. Giants/1); T Jeremy Trueblood (Tampa Bay/2) Deep Creek (Chesapeake, VA) 2 LB James Anderson (Carolina/3); DE Darryl Tapp (Seattle/2) Forest Brook (Houston, TX) 2 DT Johnny Jolly (Green Bay/6); RB Lawrence Vickers (Cleveland/6) Helix (La Mesa, CA) 2 RB Reggie Bush (New Orleans/1); WR Todd Watkins (Arizona/7) Lebanon (OR) 2 T Pat McQuistan (Dallas/7); G Paul McQuistan (Oakland/3) Lincoln (Tallahassee, FL) 2 CB Antonio Cromartie (San Diego/1); S Pat Watkins (Dallas/5) Madison Central (Flora, MS) 2 K Stephen Gostkowski (New England/4); LB Parys Haralson (San Franciosco/5) Palmdale (CA) 2 S Tyrone Culver (Green Bay/6); WR Derek Hagan (Miami/3) Stephenson (Stone Mountain, GA) 2 LB Anthony Cannon (Detroit/7); CB DeMario Minter (Cleveland/5) Tustin (CA) 2 C Chris Chester (Baltimore/2); DE Frostee Rucker (Cincinnati/3) Varina (Richmond, VA) 2 DT Jonathan Lewis (Arizona/6); RB Michael Robinson (San Franciscon/4) STATES WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT PLAYERS DRAFTED STATE PLAYERS DRAFTED California 36 Texas 30 Florida 26 Georgia 14 Virginia 14 Ohio 13 Some interesting notes on high schools in the draft: • Seven of the eight players drafted from Pennsylvania play offense. All seven players from South Carolina and eight of the 13 players drafted from Ohio play defense. • Helix High School in La Mesa, California has produced two of the top two players drafted overall in the past two years – QB ALEX SMITH, No. 1 by San Francisco in 2005, and RB REGGIE BUSH, No. 2 by New Orleans this year. • New York City, not considered to be a large purveyor of players to the NFL, had two taken: G WILLIE COLON of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx (Pittsburgh, fourth round) and LB LEON WILLIAMS from Canarsie in Brooklyn (Cleveland, fourth round). • Two players from Alaska were drafted -- by cold-weather teams: T DARYN COLLEDGE of North Pole High School (Green Bay, second round) and T CHRIS KUPER of A.J. Diamond High in Anchorage (Denver, fifth round). Only nine players born or reared in Alaska have played in the NFL since 1970. • Sixteen states, the District of Columbia and one U.S. territory had one player each drafted. Samoana High School of Pago Pago in the U.S. territory of American Samoa had DT DOMATA PEKO selected (Cincinnati, fourth round). Another graduate of the Samoana “Mighty Sharks” is in the NFL – San Francisco three-year DT ISAAC SOPOAGA. • Twins were drafted – T PAT and G PAUL MC QUISTAN of Lebanon (Ore.) High. Pat was a seventh-round selection by Dallas and Paul a third-round choice by Oakland. The 2006 NFL Draft broken down by state listing of high schools: ALABAMA (9) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY S Jason Allen Tennessee Miami (1) Muscle Shoals (AL) QB Brodie Croyle Alabama Kansas City (3) Westbrook Christian (Rainbow City, AL) S Roman Harper Alabama New Orleans (2) Prattville (AL) WR Chad Jackson Florida New England (2) Hoover (AL) QB Tavaris Jackson Alabama State Minnesota (2) Sidney Lanier (Montgomery, AL) LB Brandon Johnson Louisville Arizona (5) Minor (Adamsville, AL) WR Ben Obomanu Auburn Seattle (7) Selma (AL) DE Melvin Oliver Louisiana State San Francisco (6) Opelika (AL) LB DeMeco Ryans Alabama Houston (2) Jess Lainer (Bessemer, AL) ALASKA (2) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY T Daryn Colledge Boise State Green Bay (2) North Pole (AK) T Chris Kuper North Dakota Denver (5) A.J. Diamond (Anchorage, AK) AMERICAN SOMOA (1) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY DT Domata Peko Michigan State Cincinnati (4) Samoana, Pago Pago ARIZONA (1) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY G Deuce Lutui Southern California Arizona (2) Mesa (AZ) ARKANSAS (1) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY RB DeAngelo Williams Memphis Carolina (1) Wynne (AR) CALIFORNIA (36) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY WR David Anderson Colorado State Houston (7) Thousand Oaks (CA) S Darnell Bing Southern California Oakland (4) Long Beach Polytechnic (CA) RB Reggie Bush Southern California New Orleans (1) Helix (La Mesa, CA) C Chris Chester Oklahoma Baltimore (2) Tustin (CA) S Tyrone Culver Fresno State Green Bay (6) Palmdale (CA) LB Keith Ellison Oregon State Buffalo (6) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA) RB Quinton Ganther Utah Tennessee (7) John F. Kennedy (Richmond, CA) LB Chris Gocong Cal Poly-SLO Philadelphia (3) Carpinteria (CA) WR Derek Hagan Arizona State Miami (3) Palmdale (CA) WR Adam Jennings Fresno State Atlanta (6) Granite Bay (CA) RB Maurice Jones-Drew UCLA Jacksonville (2) De La Salle (Concord, CA) T Winston Justice Southern California Philadelphia (2) Long Beach Polytechnic (CA) LB Freddie Keiaho San Diego State Indianapolis (3) Buena (Ventura, CA) G Kili Lefotu Arizona Washington (7) Arlington (Riverside, CA) QB Matt Leinart Southern California Arizona (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) TE Marcedes Lewis UCLA Jacksonville (1) Long Beach Polytechnic (CA) CB Richard Marshall Fresno State Carolina (2) Locke (Los Angeles, CA) G Fred Matua Southern California Detroit (7) Banning (Wilmington, CA) G Aaron Merz California Buffalo (7) Wasco (CA) T Tony Moll Nevada Green Bay (5) Sonoma (CA) T Ryan O’Callaghan California New England (5) Enterprise (Redding, CA) S Jarrad Page UCLA Kansas City (7) San Leandro (CA) T Terrance Pennington New Mexico Buffalo (7) Bishop Montgomery (Torrence, CA) C Marvin Philip California Pittsburgh (6) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, CA) CB Justin Phinisee Oregon Tampa Bay (7) Downey (Compton, CA) P Ryan Plackemeier Wake Forest Seattle (7) Fallbrook (Bonsall, CA) DT LaJuan Ramsey Southern California Philadelphia (6) Dominguez (Compton, CA) DE Frostee Rucker Southern California Cincinnati (3) Tustin (CA) LB Kevin Simon Tennessee Washington (7) De La Salle (Concord, CA) DE Dave Tollefson Northwest Missouri Green Bay (7) Ygnacio Valley (Concord, CA) T Joe Toledo Washington Miami (4) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, CA) WR Delanie Walker Central Missouri San Francisco (6) Pomona (CA) WR Todd Watkins Brigham Young Arizona (7) Helix (La Mesa, CA) WR Jeff Webb San Diego State Kansas City (6) La Quinta (CA) LB Gerris Wilkinson Georgia Tech N.Y. Giants (3) Skyline (Oakland, CA) WR Demetrius Williams Oregon Baltimore (4) De La Salle (Concord, CA) COLORADO (5) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY WR Jeremy Bloom Colorado Philadelphia (5) Loveland (CO) S Reed Doughty Northern Colorado Washington(6) Roosevelt (Johnstown, CO) TE Joe Klopfenstein Colorado St. Louis (2) Grandview (Aurora, CO) CB Derrick Martin Wyoming Baltimore (4) Thomas Jefferson (Denver, CO) RB LenDale White Southern California Tennessee (2) Chatfield (Littleton, CO) DELAWARE (1) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY DE Orien Harris Miami Pittsburgh (4) Newark (DE) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (1) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY TE Vernon Davis Maryland San Francisco (1) Dunbar (Washington, DC) FLORIDA (26) PLAYER COLLEGE NFL TEAM (ROUND) HIGH SCHOOL/CITY WR Devin Aromashodu Auburn Miami (7) Miami Springs (FL) G Kevin Boothe Cornell Oakland (6) Pine Crest (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) DT Brodrick Bunkley Florida State Philadelphia (1) Chamberlain (Tampa, FL) T Rashad Butler Miami Carolina (3) Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) CB Antonio Cromartie Florida State San Diego (1) Lincoln (Tallahassee, FL) DE Elvis Dumervil Louisville Denver (4) Jackson (Miami, FL) S Cortland Finnegan Samford Tennessee (7) Milton (FL) CB Devin Hester Miami Chicago (2) Suncoast (Riviera Beach, FL) LB Abdul Hodge Iowa Green Bay (3) Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes, FL) WR Santonio Holmes Ohio State Pittsburgh (1) Glades Central (Belle Glade, FL) S Marcus Hudson North Carolina State San Francisco (6) South Dade (Miami, FL) LB D’Qwell Jackson Maryland Cleveland (2) Seminole (FL) QB Omar Jacobs Bowling Green Pittsburgh (5) Atlantic Community (Delray Beach, FL) G Max Jean-Gilles Georgia Philadelphia (4) North Miami Beach (FL) CB Kelly Jennings Miami Seattle (1) Suwanee (Live Oak, FL) G Davin Joseph Oklahoma Tampa Bay (1) Hallendale (FL) WR Brandon Marshall Central Florida Denver (4) Lake Howell (FL) DE Stanley McClover Auburn Carolina (7) Dillard (Ft.