Two Vegas high school grads picked in fourth round of NFL draft

Spencer Patterson

Monday, April 20, 1998 | 9:13 a.m.

Although it may have happened a day later than they'd expected, two local high school grads had their dreams come true in the annual NFL draft.

After going undrafted Saturday in rounds 1-3, Nevada-Reno linebacker DeShone Myles, a Cheyenne High School product, didn't have to wait very long on Sunday.

The Seattle Seahawks nabbed the 6-2, 245-pounder with their fourth-round selection (No. 107 overall), making him day two's 16th pick.

In a conference call with reporters in Seattle, a groggy-sounding Myles said he was sound asleep when he got the news he'd been drafted at about 8 a.m.

"I thought I was going to go yesterday, but I guess things didn't work out like that," Myles said. "I really thought I would go in the third round."

Myles, a three-time all-Big West performer, will likely back up Seattle outside linebackers Chad Brown and Darrin Smith and also is expected to bolster the squad's special team units.

Seahawks linebacker coach Jim Johnson said Myles could also see time in the middle, providing depth behind incumbent starter Dean Wells and Anthony Simmons, the club's first round pick this year.

"We didn't think he would still be there (in round four)," Johnson said. "He's a guy who can play outside or inside. He's got good toughness, and he's a good tackler. There was nothing I didn't like about him."

Cheyenne football coach George Perry also thinks Myles can have a successful professional career.

"We've stayed in contact, and I've watched him play in college," Perry said. "He's gotten bigger each year, and with that, along with his speed and athleticism, I think he'll be able to play well."

Colorado linebacker Ron Merkerson, a Clark High School graduate, was taken soon after Myles when New England made the 6-2, 252-pounder its fifth- round choice (No. 145 overall).

Merkerson will probably start the season as a backup to Patriots' starting inside linebacker Ted Johnson, a former Colorado teammate from 1994-95.