Monday, April 26, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.
Dominic Furio was busy walking through a supermarket in his hometown of San Pedro, Calif., on Sunday afternoon when he got a call from a reporter.
"My mom sent me out to buy some bags of ice," Furio said. "It's for the champagne."
There certainly was plenty of reason to chill and pour the bubbly in the Furio house.
Just a few minutes earlier Dominic Furio, a two-year starting center at UNLV, became the first Rebels offensive lineman in a decade to be drafted when the Philadelphia Eagles took him in the seventh round. He was the 243rd pick overall and went seven spots ahead of Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt (Broncos) who was generally regarded as the Mountain West Conference's top player the past two seasons.
A 6-foot-3, 300-pounder, Furio was a second-team all-Mountain West Conference pick and became the first UNLV offensive lineman since tackle Jerry Reynolds, a second-round choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1994, to be selected in the NFL draft. Furio also became the third Rebel ever to be picked by the Eagles joining quarterback Randall Cunningham (2nd round, 1985) and defensive lineman Tom Polley (8th round, 1985).
"I had a pretty good feeling that I might end up in Philadelphia," Furio said. "My agent told me that the Eagles really liked me."
Still, most preseason draft projections had Furio rated no higher than a potential free agent signee. In fact, the Pro Football Weekly's 2004 Draft Preview book didn't even list Furio among its 79 offensive line prospects for the draft. And the Eagles didn't attend UNLV's pro timing day in late March when Furio was timed at 5.23 in the 40 and did 28 reps of 225 pounds.
"I pretty much figured I'd be a free agent signing unless something good happened," Furio said. "And then something good happened."
While ESPN2 took a break from its draft coverage to show some baseball highlights, Furio received a phone call from the Eagles.
"I knew they had two picks coming up and if they didn't pick me there I'd probably end up as a free agent," Furio said. "Then they called. Coach (Andy) Reid got on the phone and said, 'Congratulations, you're an Eagle.' "
A few moments later Furio's named popped up on the crawl across the bottom of the screen as the 243rd pick of the 255-person draft. The Eagles picked Maryland running back Bruce Perry, a Philadelphia native who was the ACC player of the year two years ago, just before him.
"It's definitely kind of a dream come true," Furio said, "but I never really thought about this day after my senior year here at San Pedro High School. Back then I was just hoping to get a Division I scholarship and UNLV came through for me."
Furio also came through for the Rebels. He was honored as the recipient of the Tom Wiesner Award Jersey, which is annually worn by the senior player who best exemplifies the courage, enthusiasm, dedication and toughness of the former Wisconsin fullback and influential Nevada Regent, and also took home the Bill "Wildcat" Morris Most Inspirational Award as well as the John Robinson Man of the Year Award at this year's postseason banquet.
"Dominic was one of the tougher guys in this draft," Reid said. "He's a tenacious player. ... We feel very comfortable with him coming in here and competing for the center position."
Furio said he will fly to Philadelphia on Thursday morning to take part in a three-day mini camp with the Eagles.
The NFL draft wasn't so kind for two other Rebels who had hoped to be late round picks.
Running back Larry Croom, who had scored touchdowns in three postseason all-star games following an injury-plagued season and was projected to go as high as the fourth round by some scouts, went undrafted but ended up signing as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.
Croom, who said he received an $8,000 signing bonus, said a number of teams called him during the draft to say that they were going to select him only to change their minds at the final moment.
"Cleveland called me in the fifth round and said they were going to pick me or an offensive linemen with their pick," Croom said. "And then they took the offensive lineman. Arizona and Atlanta also called me and said they were going to pick me but then they didn't. I'd say I got calls from about seven different teams who said they were going to draft me. It's was frustrating but that's the way things go. I believe things happen for a reason."
The Browns took Stanford defensive end Amon Gordon in the fifth round and Cardinal offensive guard Kirk Chambers in the sixth round.
Defensive tackle Dietrich Canterberry also was passed over in the draft but is expected to sign on with a team as a free agent.
Another player who will go the free agent route is Utah cornerback Arnold Parker. A Cimarron-Memorial High graduate, Parker was regarded as a mid-round selection before the draft. He also went undrafted even though ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had him rated as the top player available during the final two rounds.
The news was much better for former Chaparral High star Richard Seigler. An Oregon State inside linebacker, Seigler was picked in the fourth round on Sunday by the San Francisco 49ers where he will be reunited with his former college coach, Dennis Erickson.
"He is a freaking warrior," Erickson said of Seigler, a first team all-Pac-10 choice who started a school-record 49 consecutive games for the Beavers en route to 356 career tackles. "(He's) probably as big a leader as I have had in my career. ... He is everything you want. He can play inside and outside. ... He will be a warrior on special teams for us. I know him and I know that he is going to sell out for the 49ers."
archive
