5 Vols picked on day one

There’s the quarterback who waits for hours in the green room, or the blue-chipper who drops inexplicably down the draft board.

For five former University of Tennessee players, though, Saturday’s draft surprises were good ones.

"It’s so hard to project those people," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "Nobody really knows. They put up so many smoke screens. I’ve been surprised both ways. This is a good surprise."

And they started early.

Defensive tackle Justin Harrell got an unexpected call from the Green Bay Packers midway through the first round.

Most experts projected the Martin, Tenn., native to be taken late in the first round or early in the second.

But by the 16th pick of the day, Harrell was off the board.

"I haven’t had a whole lot of contact with Green Bay," he said. "It was kind of a shock when they called me."

Receiver Robert Meachem got a few first-round surprises before landing with the New Orleans Saints at No. 27 overall.

The biggest surprise came when an ESPN camera at his home in Tulsa, Okla., captured an astonished Meachem when the Tennessee Titans selected Texas safety Michael Griffin with the 19th overall pick.

"I thought my name would be called at nine with the Dolphins, at 19 with Tennessee, at 22 with Dallas and at 24 with Kansas City," said Meachem, who was the fourth wide receiver taken in the draft behind Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson (Detroit), Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr. (Miami) and LSU’s Dwayne Bowe (Kansas City).

The second round, though, went more to plan for a pair of Vols.

All-American left tackle Arron Sears, who likely will play guard in the NFL, went to Tampa Bay with the No. 3 pick in the second round.

Kansas City took defensive lineman Turk McBride with the 22nd pick in the second round.

Tennessee’s five first-day picks surpassed the Vols’ first-day totals from the past three drafts combined.

It’s also just the fifth time since 1967 five or more players have been taken in the first three rounds.

"It’s a fantastic statement for our program that they’ve continued to develop once they came to Tennessee," Fulmer said.

Harrell’s stock got a boost by his decision to remain at UT for his senior season, despite playing just three games before undergoing surgery to repair a torn biceps.

Green Bay’s choice to draft Harrell was so unexpected, some Packers fans booed the choice.

Green Bay general manger Ted Thompson said Harrell was too good to pass up.

"We really felt like he was the best talent on the board," Thompson said. "Anytime you have a chance to get a quality defensive lineman of his ability, you have to think about taking him."

Thompson said that former UT linebacker and Austin-East High School standout Reggie McKenzie, now the Packers’ director of player personnel, gave Harrell a great recommendation.

"He’s Mr. Tennessee for all of us. He wears that ugly orange all the time," Thompson said about McKenzie. "He has tremendous contacts there and knows all the players there, and that certainly helped in the insight."

So did that extra year of scouting.

The NFL’s draft advisory board told Harrell he was projected as a second-round pick following the 2005 season.

"It gave people a whole year to study him," Fulmer said. "Sometimes when those juniors declare, it’s such a short period to evaluate them.

"They had a whole year to study him, and it’s good to see him be successful after coming back."

Sears also passed up the NFL after 2005 and was the second guard taken after Auburn’s Ben Grubbs.

He is the first Tennessee offensive lineman drafted since center Scott Wells went in the seventh round in 2004, and the highest lineman selected since 1991 when tackles Charles McRae and Antone Davis were top-10 picks.

Fulmer said that Sears helped separate himself from other players with his in-person interviews.

"His intelligence and experience level that he gained at Tennessee is going to pay great dividends for him," Fulmer said. "He did extremely well when they sat down and talked to him. That was a big plus for him."

Cornerback Jonathan Wade rounded out the list of first-day Vols, going to the St. Louis Rams with the 21st pick of the third round.

The NFL draft concludes today with the final four rounds, beginning at 11 a.m. (TV: ESPN).

UT fullback Cory Anderson, a former standout at A-E, is among those who could be drafted.

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

ON THE BOARD

University of Tennessee football players still available for the NFL draft.

FB Cory Anderson

LB Marvin Mitchell

PK James Wilhoit

C David Ligon

WR Bret Smith

WR Jayson Swain

S Antwan Stewart