SEC Leads Nation in First Day NFL Draft Selections The Southeastern Conference led all conferences with 20 players selected in the first day of the 2004 National Football League Draft, held April 24 in New York City. The Big Ten was second with 18, followed by the Big East and the ACC with 13 each, the Pac-10 with 12 and the Big 12 with seven. The SEC had six players selected in the day's first of three rounds followed by nine in the second round and five in the third round. Eight of the 12 SEC teams had at least one player selected in the first three rounds. Florida and LSU led with four selections each followed by Arkansas with three, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina with two each and Ole Miss with one. Ole Miss' Eli Manning was the first selection of the draft, taken by the San Diego Chargers. Moments later, Manning was traded to the New York Giants. Other SEC players selected in the first round were South Carolina cornerback Dunta Robinson taken 10th by the Houston Texans, LSU wide receiver Michael Clayton taken 15th by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arkansas offensive tackle Shawn Andrews taken 16th by the Philadelphia Eagles, Arkansas cornerback Ahmad Carroll taken 25th by the Green Bay Packers and Georgia tight end Ben Watson was the 32nd selection of the New England Patriots. Auburn linebacker Karlos Dansby led the list of SEC players taken in the second round when the Arizona Cardinals made him the first pick of the round. Florida tight end Ben Troupe was later taken by Tennessee with the eighth pick of the second round. Alabama offensive guard Justin Smiley was taken by the San Francisco 49ers, Dontarrious Thomas, Auburn's linebacker, was selected by the Minnesota Vikings. Florida cornerback Keiwan Ratliff was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals and LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson was taken by the New Orleans Saints. The Tennessee Titans selected Antwan Odom, a defensive end from Alabama, Georgia free safety Sean Jones went to the Cleveland Browns and LSU defensive end Marquise Hill was the last player taken in the second round by the New England Patriots. Florida offensive tackle Max Starks was the first SEC player chosen in the third round, when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Arkansas linebacker Caleb Miller went to the Cincinnati Bengals, LSU offensive guard Stephen Peterson was selected by the Dallas Cowboys, South Carolina offensive tackle Travelle Wharton was taken by the Carolina Panthers and Florida strong safety Guss Scott went to the New England Patriots. http://secsports.com/index.php?url_..._channel_id=3795&url_subchannel_id=&well_id=2
