NFL Draft Day 2003
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NFL Draft Day 2003

While "Draft Day" has come and gone, NFL fans from around the country are either pleased or indifferent with their teams picks.

And though many of the picks will not contribute this year, more may never even play an NFL down. But while the 2003 draft classes impact won't be felt for a few years, that's no reason to forgot about them now that the draft is over. Especially if you're from one of the five towns who had a local high school graduate selected in the NFL draft this year.

While Chris Brown of Naperville North / Colorado, probably won't be bumping Eddie George out of the starting lineup this upcoming season, he will defiantly have a fan club of Huskie fans watching the box scores to see if he got a carry or two on Sunday.

Out of the five Illinois high school graduates to be selected in this years draft , only Eric Steinbach was involved in a state title game. Giving hope to those who have NFL dreams put missed out on a trip to Champaign.

Either way, the five gentleman below have their work cut out for them and IHSFW.com will follow their progress whether they excel to the likes of Butkus & Grange or if they only play Arena ball after this.

 

Current list of Illinois High School NFL Draftees;

Eric Steinbach /New Lenox (Providence)
Cincinatti, 2nd round (33 overall)

Gaurd out of Iowa. Was the first pick of the second round.

Chris Brown / Naperville (North)
Tennessee Titans, 3rd round (93 overall)

Running back from Colorado.

Dave Diehl /Chicago (Brother Rice)
Cincinatti Bengals, 5th round (160 overall)

Guard from Illinois.

Tony Pashos / Lockport (Twp.) 1999
Baltimore Ravens, 5th round (173 overall)

The 6'6" 320 lbs. senior offensive tackle has been ranked as high as the third best offensive lineman in the country & is also ranked by some as the 6th best NFL talent in the Big 10. Was named to numerous Big 10 & All-American teams junior & senior year. While Pashos getting drafted early may not be as big as a surprise as Lockport winning the 8A championship in 2002. It will defiantly cap off a magical season for the Porters & their fans.

Walter Young / Park Forest (Rich East)
Carolina Panther, 7th round (226 overall)

Wide receiver from Illinois.

 

Schumacher, Jerry /Chicago (Mt. Carmel)1999
Not drafted
The 6'3" 235 lbs linbacker for Illinois and member of the 1998 Caravan 5A Championship team, has made numerous publications All-Big 10 list in 2002. Rated inside the top 20 for the linebacker spot in this years upcoming NFL Drfat.

 

 

The NFL Draft for 2003 is on April 26th. And with that event, the fans of NFL teams will be paying close attention to first & second rounds to see who will be the next franchise player for their team.

While a lot of the national focus will be on the likes of Palmer & Leftwich or McGahee & Simms, small towns & big cities across Illinois & other states will be focused in on local graduates & gridiron heroes of their former high schools.

While some of the football elite in Illinois have gone on to collegiate gridiron glory, even fewer have gone Pro & achieved the glory of being a play maker in the NFL.

Names like Dick Butkus & Red Grange bring to mind the prowess of past Illinois high school football juggernauts. And names like Alstott & McNabb help continue that trend. But, for every big name who's made it there are a dozen who have short stints in the NFL or never make it past the training camps. We'll help you keep track of them all.

Keep coming back to IHSFW.com as we update the "2003 Draft" page on possible Illinois draftees and then check out the "Illinois Gridiron Past Players" section as we update their college career as well as and a select few to the "Pro" list.

By Vincent Johnson
March 15th 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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