In slow draft year, 3 Hokies stand out

They played the same position at Virginia Tech, worked out at the same facility in Orlando leading up to the combine and have roughly the same projection in this weekend’s NFL Draft, expected to go sometime on Day 3.

So do former Hokies receivers Corey Fuller and Marcus Davis have a friendly competition going about who will hear his name announced first this weekend?

“Not really,” Davis said. “Because a team might like him better than they like me, so it’s really no competition. It’s just support.

“If he goes before me, all the props go to him. And likewise. I know he’ll probably say the same thing about me. I don’t even look at him as a friend; I look at him more as a brother.”

It’ll be a relatively low key weekend for Virginia Tech compared to previous years. It’s setting up to be only the second time since 2004 and the first time in four years that the Hokies won’t have a player taken in the draft’s first three rounds, an unusual class for a school that has had 50 players drafted since 2001, eighth-most nationally.

Fuller, Davis and offensive tackle Vinston Painter, whose stock rose considerably after a strong showing at the combine, are the contenders to be the first Hokie selected. Just when that will be, like many things in the draft, remains a mystery.

Fuller expects to go sometime in the fourth to sixth rounds, although he’s heard there’s an outside chance at the third, a meteoric rise for the former track star who transferred to Virginia Tech from Kansas and broke onto the scene as a senior, his one season as a major contributor.

He had individual workouts with his hometown team Baltimore (along with West Virginia’s Tavon Austin) and New England, doing the latter in Blacksburg. Teams like his speed — he ran a 4.43 at the combine — something coveted by teams that like the vertical passing game.

“Seeing him come off the line of scrimmage, like you would expect from a track guy, it’s awesome,” said NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock, who thinks Fuller has the higher upside of the two Tech receivers. “I mean, the only problem is it’s kind of … long-legged speed; it’s not quick-twitch, get-in-and-out-of-breaks kind of speed.”

Davis has been working out in Virginia Beach since Virginia Tech’s pro day in March. He had individual meetings with Oakland, New England and Philadelphia.

At 6-foot-3, 233 pounds, he’s among the bigger receivers in the draft, something that has his draft projection all over the map. He’s heard as high as second round and as low as sixth, although he’s expecting to be a third-day pick.

“Not too many receivers are as big and fast as I am, but not everybody goes for that type of receiver,” Davis said.

Mayock said there are medical concerns about Davis, something that was news to him. Teams checked out Davis’ shoulder at the combine (he has an old labrum issue), but he said they weren’t alarmed by anything at the time.

Both receivers will have friends and family around for the draft. Davis said he’s going to go about his business as usual and not watch on TV. Fuller wanted to take that approach, but thinks his curiosity will get the best of him and he’ll tune in to what has become a three-day marathon of coverage.

“Before [Wednesday], I was more … excited, glad to be in this position,” Fuller said. “Now it’s more anxious, nervous, impatient, ready to get everything situated.

“I’m really good at keeping it under control. But things like this? This will determine the rest of your life, things you’ve dreamed about your whole life and your ending position.”

Weather Journal

3 hours ago

1. Defense heeds the call as Virginia Tech squeaks out win over ECU 

2. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

3. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

4. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

5. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

6. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

7. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football 

8. Blacksburg lawyer Painter’s bond revoked

9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

10. Principal who guided Patrick Henry through integration dies