For the fifth straight year, a member of the San Diego State football team was selected in the NFL Draft, as senior offensive lineman Terry Poole was selected with the 130th overall pick in the fourth round by the Seattle Seahawks over the weekend.
Poole will join fellow Aztec alumni Eric Pinkins and Heath Farwell as he heads to the Pacific Northwest.
After attending Monterey Peninsula College for two seasons, Poole transferred to SDSU where he was a staple on the offensive line, blocking for the likes of Adam Muema and sophomore running back Donnel Pumphrey during his record-setting campaign last season.
Poole started all 25 games he played for the Aztecs, and was a captain last year as he made the move to left tackle from right tackle.
In his one year protecting quarterback Quinn Kaehler’s blindside, Poole earned second-team all-Mountain West honors and was the team’s offensive lineman of the year.
During Poole’s tenure, SDSU rushed for 191.3 yards per game and scored 56 touchdowns on the ground.
Even though he had great success for the Aztecs at left tackle last season, it’s expected that he will be moved to the guard spot in the pros.
While senior wide receiver Ezell Ruffin didn’t hear his name called over the weekend like Poole, he still managed to end up with an NFL team.
Ruffin signed with the Indianapolis Colts shortly after the the draft ended.
He had a breakout junior season when he caught 68 passes for 1,136 yards.
But Ruffin saw his draft stock plummet due to a broken collarbone that hindered his numbers last season, as well as sub-par numbers in workouts in front of NFL scouts.
He still managed to hold a private workout in April, in which four teams were able to see what he had to offer, one of those teams being the Colts.
Even though Ruffin is currently on a team, he still has a long way to go before cracking the team’s 53-man roster to open the season.
Also joining Ruffin on the Colts will be senior linebacker Cody Galea, who impressed with his pro-day workouts after not being invited to the NFL Combine.
Galea spent five years with the SDSU program and was lauded for his consistency at the defensive end and linebacker position.
Another player who was signed as an undrafted free agent was senior defensive lineman Sam Meredith, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Meredith provided tenacity for SDSU off the left side of the defensive line, but he had to battle injuries for much of last season.
One player to watch that still might end up signing with a team in the near future is senior linebacker Derek Largent, who like Galea had a fantastic pro day.
While SDSU’s senior class was not as strong as previous season, it still managed to get a player drafted and saw multiple sign with teams after the draft.
What remains to be seen is whether these four players, including Poole, make their respective teams coming out of training camp in August.
