Editor’s note: This article was submitted by the staff of Penn State’s ComRadio, which will provide draft coverage throughout the weekend from New York. You can browse the organization’s special draft coverage page and follow it on Twitter @NFLDraftShow.
NEW YORK — Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still was selected 53rd overall in the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night.
“It’s a blessing,” Still said. “I’m trying to take advantage of every opportunity I have to play with them.”
The 2011 All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year had his family with him in New York, including his 2-year-old daughter, Leah.
Still, 6-foot-5, 303 pounds, was projected by many as a late-first to early second-round pick but slipped into the bottom half of the second round until the Bengals came calling, which surprised him.
“I haven’t talked to the Bengals since the (NFL Scouting) Combine, so it was a surprising pick for me,” Still said.
Still projects with the Bengals as a big body tackle that can substitute for Geno Atkins on run downs. Cincinnati also drafted Clemson defensive tackle Brandon Thompson in the third round.
Thompson provides some early competition with Still for playing time. Still said he had hoped to be the first player at his position to be drafted but instead he was seventh.
“I wasn’t a given a chance to do that,” he said, “so right now I just want to try to go out there and prove myself.”
Still says the birth of his daughter in April 2010 was a turning point in his life and helped him mature and see what was important to him.
“When you’re a parent, you always want to be able to take care of your kids,” Still said. “Being in the NFL gives me an opportunity to make sure my daughter is taken care of for the rest of her life.”
Still, one of 26 prospects invited to the draft in New York, was the second-to-last out of the Green Room — LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle was the last. Twenty of the invitees were taken in the first round.
Penn State, and the Big Ten, is known for its physical style of football, and Still is excited now to continue that at the next level in the AFC North. He is the eighth Penn State defensive lineman since 2000 to be selected in first two rounds of the draft.
“They have a hard-nosed defense up there in Cincinnati,” he said. “I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Two of Still’s cousins also have played in the NFL.
Art Still was a four-time Pro Bowl defensive end who played 10 seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and two for the Buffalo Bills. Levon Kirkland was a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who played nine seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one each for the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.
Patrick Woo is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He is a ComRadio Sports Director. To contact him, email: pww5053@psu.edu.
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