April 26, 2008

For the fourth time in five years, Conference USA produced a first round selection in the National Football League draft. East Carolina running back Chris Johnson was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the 24th overall pick. With his selection, Johnson matches former Pirate linebacker Robert Jones, who was also the 24th overall pick in the 1992 draft, as ECU's highest draft choice ever. Additionally, Houston's Donnie Avery became the first wide receiver taken in the draft when the St. Louis Rams selected him with the second pick of the second round (33rd overall) and Tulane's Matt Forte was selected by the Chicago Bears later in the second round with the 44th overall choice.

A First-Team All-America selection by Pro Football Weekly and a two-time First-Team All-Conference USA performer, Johnson recently completed his four-year Pirate career with a school-record 6,993 all-purpose yards as the program's top running back and kickoff returner since 2004.

He authored a total of 18 single-game, single-season and career standards at the conclusion of his senior campaign, leaving East Carolina as the Pirates' all-time leader in kickoff return yardage (2,715), touchdowns (44), receptions and reception yards (125-1,296) by a running back.

Johnson turned in his finest season as a senior in 2007, topping all Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) players to capture the national statistical championship in all-purpose yards (227.7 ypg) while also standing among the Top 25 in scoring (4th/11.08 ppg), kickoff return average (18th/28.03 ypr) and rushing (24th/109.46 ypg). In addition to representing a career-best, his 1,423 ground yards marked the highest individual total at ECU since 2001 while his 24 touchdowns and 144 points served as a school single-season record.

Johnson matched or bettered the East Carolina single-game record for all-purpose yards on three occasions when he racked up 372 vs. UCF, 408 vs. Memphis and 408 vs. Boise State, which also rated as the second and third-highest all-purpose yard FBS performances in 2007. He ran for a personal-best 301 yards against the Tigers at the Liberty Bowl on Nov. 3 before following with a Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl-record 223-yard ground effort vs. the Broncos on Dec. 23, which helped him set an all-time single NCAA Bowl record for all-purpose yards.

In all, Johnson posted nine 100-yard rushing and two 100-yard receiving games during his career, which were accomplished in 36 starts spanning 47 total contests. He led the Pirates in rushing as a freshman, sophomore and senior, and currently ranks third on the school's all-time rushing charts (2,982) and sixth on the receptions list (125).

The 2007 Conference USA Media Special Teams Player-of-the-Year also left an impression on the league's record books, capturing career marks in kickoff return yardage and kickoff returns (115).

Avery led Conference USA and ranked fourth in the nation with an average of 112 receiving yards per game, while his averaged of seven catches per contest also led the league and ranked 14th nationally.

In addition, he shattered school and conference records during his final campaign with 346 yards receiving in the Rice contest, becoming the first player in C-USA annals to gain over 300 yards receiving in a game. His 427 all-purpose yards in that game also set new league and Houston records, topping his own record set two weeks earlier with 350 yards vs. East Carolina.

In 2006, Avery appeared in 14 contests, earning 12 starts. He ranked second on the Cougars with 57 catches for 852 yards (14.9-yard average) and five touchdowns, as 12 of those grabs were for gains of at least 20 yards. He totaled 113 yards on six kickoff returns (18.8 avg) and amassed 965 all-purpose yards.

Avery earned All-American second-team honors as an all-purpose back from The NFL Draft Report. He was a consensus All-Conference USA first-team choice as a receiver and second-team pick on special teams. He paced the Cougars with a career-high 91 catches for 1,456 yards (16.0 avg) and seven touchdowns. Seventeen of his catches were for at least 20 yards, as he also returned 15 kickoffs for 424 yards (28.3 avg) and a score. He recorded two solo tackles and generated 1,880 all-purpose yards.

Avery started 42 of 50 games at Houston. He became the third player in school history to gain over 3,000 yards receiving, as he caught 210 passes for 3,289 yards (15.7-yard average) and 19 touchdowns. He had 41 catches for 20 yards or longer and returned 40 kickoffs for 896 yards (22.4-yard average), including one score. He added 28 yards on three punt returns (9.3 avg) and recorded 14 tackles (11 solo) with a stop for a two-yard loss. He amassed 4,213 all-purpose yards, an average of 84.26 yards per game.

Forte' ranks second on the school's career-record lists with 808 rushing attempts for 4,145 yards on the ground, while his 38 scoring runs established the Tulane all-time record. Forte' also became the 11th player in NCAA Subdivision (1-A) history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season during his senior year.

After leading the nation in rushing for a good part of 2007, Forte eventually finished second (behind UCF's Kevin Smith) with 177.3 yards per game. He was also second in scoring with 11.67 points per game and fourth with 201.7 all-purpose yards per game. His five 200-yard games tied the single-season NCAA record held by three players (Marcus Allen of Southern California in 1981, Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State in 1988 and Jamario Thomas of North Texas State in 2004).

In 2007, Forte' gained 620 yards in a two-game span (vs. Southern Methodist and Memphis), the most by a Division 1-A runner since Ricky Williams of Texas gained 668 yards in 1998 (318 vs. Rice and 350 vs. Iowa State). His 2007 three-game span of 829 yards (vs. SMU, Memphis and UAB) are the most gained by a Division 1-A runner in three consecutive contests since Sanders totaled 937 yards in 1988. His four-game streak of 1,031 yards is the most in Division 1-A history since Sanders piled up 1,152 yards in 1988.

Forte' amassed 2,432 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in his career while also catching 48 passes for 618 yards and five scores. He gained 1,375 yards as a senior while averaging 6.7 yards per carry, scoring 23 touchdowns on the ground. He also made 18 catches for 253 yards and a pair of scores. He totaled 1,057 rushing yards with eight touchdowns and caught 30 passes for 365 yards and three scores as a junior. He also lettered in track.

CONFERENCE USA'S 2008 NFL DRAFTEES

Round	No. (Overall)	Player	Pos.	C-USA School	NFL Team
First	24 (24)	Chris Johnson	RB	East Carolina	Tennessee Titans
Second	2 (33)	Donnie Avery	WR	Houston	St. Louis Rams
Second	13 (44)	Matt Forte'	RB	Tulane	Chicago Bears
Third	1 (64)	Kevin Smith	RB	UCF	Detroit Lions
Third	36 (99)	Oniel Cousins	OG	UTEP	Baltimore Ravens
Fourth	18 (117)	Quintin Demps	FS	UTEP	Philadelphia Eagles
Fourth	36 (135)	Josh Sitton	C	UCF	Green Bay Packers
Fifth	31 (166)	Marcus Thomas	RB	UTEP	San Diego Chargers
Sixth	33 (199)	Robert Henderson	DE	Southern Miss	New York Giants
Seventh	21 (228)	Chris Chamberlain	LB	Tulsa	St. Louis Rams
Seventh	32 (239)	Mike Merritt	TE	UCF	Kansas City Chiefs