Browns take Bethel High grad in 2nd round

Waiting until the middle of the second round to be taken may not have been how Bethel High graduate Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah anticipated his NFL draft experience turning out, but Owusu-Koramoah, Grassfield High alum Patrick Jones and Hampton High product Dazz Newsome gave the 757 a trio of selections in this year’s draft.

Owusu-Koramoah, a 6-foot2, 220-pound linebacker who played at Notre Dame, was chosen by the Cleveland Browns in the second round (52nd overall) of the draft.

Jones, a 6-4, 261-pound defensive end who played at Pittsburgh, went in the third round (90th overall) to the Minnesota Vikings and Newsome, a 5-10, 190-pound wide receiver and return specialist for North Carolina, was drafted in the sixth round (221st overall) by the Chicago Bears.

Former Virginia Tech safety Divine Deablo was also selected Friday, going in the third round (80th overall) to the Las Vegas Raiders. Former Hokies running back Khalil Herbert was taken Saturday in the sixth round (217th overall) by the Bears.

Before the draft, most analysts expected Owusu-Koramoah to be taken anywhere from the middle of the first round to early in the second round.

Though Owusu-Koramoah was only considered one of the nation’s top 35 outside linebacker recruits in the class of 2017 by many analysts, and after a slow start to his college career, he emerged in his final two seasons at Notre Dame.

He won the Butkus Award last season as the nation’s top linebacker.

He played in just two games in his freshman and sophomore seasons at Notre Dame, but he started each of the Fighting Irish’s last 25 games and earned unanimous All-America status as a senior, excelling in coverage and establishing himself as a ferocious hitter.

Jones was drafted sooner than anticipated, according to the projections of many analysts, who mainly had him going Saturday in the later rounds.

A consensus All-America selection last season and first-team All-ACC pick, Jones led the ACC and was fifth in the nation with nine sacks, and he was sixth in the conference with 13 tackles for loss. He was a two-year starter at Pitt, where he finished with 22 career sacks.

Newsome indicated before the draft he’d spoken with several teams about playing either as a receiver or as a return specialist in the NFL. He’ll have the opportunity to make an impact on offense and special teams for the Bears.

At UNC, Newsome developed a reputation as an elusive openfield runner, finishing his college career with 188 catches for 2,435 yards and 18 touchdowns. In the 2018 season, he finished fourthbest in the nation with an average of 15.1 yards per return on 19 punt returns, and he led the ACC last season with an average of 9.9 yards per punt return.

Deablo, a 6-3, 226-pound native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was a first-team All-ACC selection last season after tying for the conference lead with four interceptions.

He came to Virginia Tech as a highly recruited wide receiver but was moved to safety, where he was a three-year starter.

Herbert made the most of one season in Blacksburg. A 5-9, 210-pound product of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Herbert transferred in December 2019 to Tech from Kansas and finished second in the ACC last season with 1,182 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 154 carries.