Get beyond Grizzly Nation, though, and many returns were less happy. Blogs blasted, while news media in Atlanta and Miami mostly just noted the Griz products and moved on. On Sunday, when Biermann's name appeared on the ESPN coverage of the draft, his name was briefly misspelled, “Bierman.”
“I didn't even notice,” the Hardin native and Buck Buchanan winner said that day. “But that's all right. No big deal. When they drafted (Brett) Favre, they called him ‘Favor,' so it's all good.”
So while Atlanta fans can wonder why the Falcons said they were going to build from the inside out and then took precious few interior linemen, Biermann can go make his case.
Hilliard has a tougher row with a team whose stable of running backs includes Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. Among the seven backs on the Dolphins' minicamp roster are two fullbacks.
All the Kalispell product can do is prove the Achilles injury that delayed his senior season is 100 percent, that he can handle the Miami humidity and that he can still press the right hole and take on tacklers.
Seems like two out of three are a given, and the humidity didn't hold down former Griz - though for now he's an ex-Dolphin - Harris for long.
Hilliard's school ties shouldn't hurt either, where Miami director of operations Bill Parcells is concerned. Parcells gave Procter a chance in Dallas, and the ex-Griz tackle is building himself a nice NFL career.
“That's one of the things I leaned on,” said Hilliard, who had to take part in a teleconference with Miami media following his pick. “I said, ‘Cory Procter fell in love with Bill Parcells, so he can't be such a bad guy.' Things like that.”
The bottom line is the future isn't clear for either Biermann or Hilliard, but the fact that each was drafted makes it that much brighter.
The end of NFL Europe has made it tougher for athletes to find jobs playing pro football. NFL teams were bringing in up to 85 players, given they had five designated for Europe.
Now that number is 80, which doesn't seem like much until you consider how many franchises there are. That's 160 fewer jobs, no matter how temporary they may be.
So things are tough all over. But Biermann and Hilliard have been through the freshman battles and been in that no-man's land of where they'll fit.
Biermann was buried on a UM depth chart that included standouts like Ciche Pitcher, Mike Murphy, Lance Spencer and Dustin Dlouhy. Now he's the reigning top defensive player in Football Championship Division I football, and seems to be a guy - part linebacker, part defensive end - the Falcons really wanted.
“When you've got that type of versatility, it bodes well for a guy,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said.
Oddly enough, Hilliard was thought at one point to be a defensive end by former UM coach Joe Glenn's staff. Five years later he has the most TDs in Montana's history.
Can he find a niche on the Dolphins and in the NFL? I might've been on the fence on that deal before. But after seeing him go in the sixth round to Miami, I'm willing to bet on it.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)