Alabama set a school record for players picked in the National Football League Draft with a total of a dozen players from its 2017 national championship team selected. Seven former Crimson Tide players were taken Sunday on the final day of the draft, when the fourth through the seventh rounds took place in Arlington, Texas.
The 12 selections were not only the most for Alabama, but also in the history of the SEC. Alabama had 10 players taken in 2017 to set the previous school record.
Da’Shawn Hand went to the Detroits Lions and Anthony Averette to the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round, punter JK Scott to the Green Bay Packers in the fifth, linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton to the Washington Redskins and center Bradley Bozeman to the Ravens in the sixth round. Running back Bo Scarbrough was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round, with defensive lineman Josh Frazier was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Scarbrough, who played high school ball at Northridge and IMG Academy before finishing up his schooling at Tuscaloosa County, was taken with the 236th overall pick. He ran for 1,512 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns on 267 carries for his career. He had 124 carries for 596 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, a decline from his sophomore season when he had 125 carries for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He improved significantly as a receiver in 2017: Scarbrough had just four catches for 22 yards as a sophomore and none as a freshman but was second on the team with 17 receptions last season.
The Lions made Hand the first Alabama player taken on the final day of the draft when they took him with the 114th overall pick. He was announced as a defensive end, and will join former UA player A’Shawn Robinson on the defense front in Detroit. He will be coached by Bo Davis, who was UA’s defensive line coach from 2007-10 and 2014-15.
Hand arrived at Alabama as a unanimous five-star prospect and the No. 1 recruit in the nation. He was one of the top signees in Alabama’s No. 1-ranked class in 2014.
Four picks later, Baltimore took Averette, with outgoing general manager Ozzie Newsome going to his alma mater for the selection. Averett started all 15 games at cornerback for Alabama in 2017, finishing with 48 tackles and one interception.
Averette will join former Crimson Tide cornerback Marlon Humphrey in Baltimore’s defensive backfield.
“It’s going to be like old times,” Averette told the Ravens’ website. “That’s what they were teasing me about when they (called) me, talking about Marlon like, ‘Are you still faster than him?’ Me and him are going to be happy playing both sides.”
Bozeman joined the Ravens with the 215th pick. He won the job as Alabama’s starting center before the 2016 season and was a rock on the offensive line in his last two seasons. He started all 31 games at center during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and was voted as a permanent team captain by his teammates at the end of his senior year.
Scott was taken by the Packers with the 172nd overall pick. He became the first punter from Alabama to be drafted since 1995, when the New York Giants picked Bryne Diehl in the seventh round. He gave Alabama a weapon in the punting game for four years.
The Redskins added to their roster of former Alabama players on defense by selecting Hamilton in the sixth round with the 197th pick. He joins Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson and 2018 first-round pick Da’Ron Payne on the Redskins’ stop unit.
Hamilton, who was voted a permanent team captain for the 2017 season, looks forward to joining the Redskins’ collection of former Crimson Tide standouts.
“I was talking to Da’Ron and saying we could all bring out the best in each other as Redskins,” Hamilton told USA Today. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
Frazier was Alabama’s final player selected, going to the Steelers with the 246th pick. He was a key rotation player for Alabama’s defensive line in 2017, playing in all 15 games and finishing the season with 15 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
In Thursday’s first round, Alabama had defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick taken by the Miami Dolphins, defensive lineman Payne selected by the Washington Redskins, linebacker Rashaan Evans picked by the Tennessee Titans and wide receiver Calvin Ridley go to the Atlanta Falcons. Safety Ronnie Harrison went to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round on Friday.
Three members of UA’s 2017 team who had been possible draftees went unpicked: defensive backs Tony Brown and Levi Wallace and wideout Robert Foster.
Ben Jones contributed to this report.
