April 29, 2007

AUBURN -- Three Auburn football players, Will Herring, David Irons, and Courtney Taylor were each drafted in the final day of the 2007 National Football League Draft Sunday. Herring went in the fifth round to the Seattle Seahawks, while Irons and Taylor both went in the sixth round to the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, respectively.

The three joined offensive guard Ben Grubbs and running back Kenny Irons who were drafted Saturday. Grubbs was the 29th overall pick of the first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, while Irons was taken in the second round (49th overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Herring played in 53 games for Auburn, setting the Auburn record by starting the last 49 straight games. He started the last 13 at linebacker where he moved to from safety prior to the 2006 season. The Auburn native finished with 250 tackles, including 147 solo, with two sacks, eight interceptions and 15 pass deflections.

In 2006, Herring was named a Wuerffel Trophy finalist and was named the Coaches All-SEC Second Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Second Team. In 2005, Herring was selected to the Coaches and Associated Press All-SEC Second Teams.

David Irons played two seasons with the Tigers, finishing his collegiate career with 90 tackles, two interceptions and 23 pass deflections in 24 games, all starts. He was named to the Coaches All-SEC Second Team and was an Associated Press All-SEC Honorable Mention selection in 2006 after finishing with 42 tackles and two interceptions in helping guide the Tigers to an 11-2 record and top 10 finish.

The Dacula, Ga., native, was an AP All-SEC Second Team honoree in 2005 after playing in 11 games, earning 11 pass deflections and 36 solo tackles.

Taylor finished his Auburn career as the school's all-time receptions leader with 153 and fourth all-time with 2,098 receiving yards. He finished the 2006 season with a career-best 54 receptions and 704 yards. In 2004, Taylor helped guide the Tigers to their perfect 13-0 season with 43 receptions, 737 yards and six touchdowns..

The five selections in the draft are the most since the 2005 draft when five Tigers were selected. Since 2004, Auburn has had 17 players drafted including nine in the top two rounds.

AUBURN NFL DRAFT NOTES

Name	Pos	Rnd	Overall	Team
Ben Grubbs	OG	1st	29th	Baltimore Ravens
Kenny Irons	RB	2nd	49th	Cincinnati Bengals
Will Herring	LB	5th	161st	Seattle Seahawks
David Irons	DB	6th	194th	Atlanta Falcons
Courtney Taylor	WR	6th	197th	Seattle Seahawks

** Auburn had five players drafted, the most since five were selected in the 2005 draft.

** Auburn has had 17 players drafted in the last four years.

** The 29th overall pick, Grubbs is the highest drafted Auburn guard in NFL Draft history and is the school's highest drafted offensive lineman since Victor Riley was the 28th overall pick in 1998.

** Grubbs is the first Tiger offensive lineman to be drafted in the first round since Kendall Simmons in 2002 by Pittsburgh, and the first Auburn player ever to be drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

** Grubbs is the fifth Tiger in the last three years to be selected in the first round, joining Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams, Carlos Rogers, and Jason Campbell, who were all first-round selections in the 2005 draft.

** With the selection of Grubbs and Irons in the first two rounds, Auburn has had nine players drafted in the first or second round, since 2004.