Three Hurricanes Taken on Day Three of 2010 NFL Draft
April 24, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami linebacker Darryl Sharpton, offensive tackle Jason Fox and tight end Dedrick Epps were selected on the third day of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Saturday. Sharpton was drafted in the fourth round as the 102nd overall pick of the Houston Texans while Fox was the 128th overall pick of the Detroit Lions. Epps was the 235th overall pick of the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity,” Sharpton said. “I’m happy to be a Houston Texan. I want to thank all my coaches and my family for being there for me. I’m looking forward to embarking on this new chapter of my life, and I’m going to go in there with the same work ethic of being an extremely hard-worker. I can’t wait to be a big contributor to the Houston Texans.”
Sharpton was a second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection in 2009. He led the `Canes in unassisted tackles (65) and total tackles (106). He tied for fourth in the ACC with an 8.2 tackle per game average on the year and averaged 12 tackles per game over the last four contests (at UNC, vs. Duke, at USF, vs. Wisconsin). He earned two ACC Defensive Linemen of the Week honors in the final two weeks of the regular season. Sharpton ranked third on the defense with 8.5 tackles for a loss and second in assisted tackles (41) and became the first UM defender with 100 tackles since Tavares Gooden tallied 119 in 2007 after recording a career-high 15 tackles against Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl. He was awarded the Jack Harding MVP Award (along with LT Jason Fox) at the team’s annual awards banquet on Dec. 6 and also garnered the Hard Hitter Award at the banquet. He recorded his first career touchdown on a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown against Duke on Senior Day on Nov. 21. He tallied double-digit tackles on five occasions, including a career-high 15 tackles against Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl. He also played in the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl.
Fox earned first team All-ACC honors in 2009. He was a two-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week after wins against Oklahoma and Virginia. He graded out at 96 percent with 20 pancake blocks and four lumberjacks. He helped a Miami offense rack up the most yards since the 2004 season as the Miami offense became just the eighth team in school history to gain 5,000 yards in a season. He graded out at 95 percent or higher 10 of the 11 games. He started 11 games for Miami in 2009 and finished his career with 47 starts, which is the third-most all-time by a Miami player.
Epps was the team’s sixth-leading receiver with 247 yards on 19 catches in 12 games playe. He had three touchdown catches, including a season-long 33 yarder against USF. He totalled a season high 46 yards on two catches against Florida State. Epps had at least one catch in 10 games in 2009. For his career
“We’re very excited for Darryl, Jason, Dedrick and their families,” UM head coach <=”” href=”http://www.hurricanesports.com. All three have contributed a lot to the Miami football program. This is an exciting time for them, and we wish them all the best in the NFL.?DB_OEM_ID=28700″>=””>
