From staff reports
BLACKSBURG
The end of the NFL lockout has been good for several former Virginia Tech players, perhaps none more so than running back Darren Evans.
After leaving school early to pursue his pro dream, Evans went undrafted in April and then had to wait three long months for the NFL's players and owners to finish negotiating so he could be signed as a free agent. But the wait turned out to be more than worth it Tuesday when Evans' hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts, picked him up.
Evans has been living and training in Indianapolis, where he rushed for 7,220 yards and 127 touchdowns at Warren Central High. His parents, both of whom have battled serious health problems in the past year, and Evans' pregnant wife and son also live in the city.
'Never been more proud to be from Indianapolis,' Evans wrote on Twitter after his signing. 'I'll take the hometown kid title and run wild.'
Evans, a 6-foot, 227-pound power back who rushed for 2,119 yards and 22 touchdowns in two seasons at Tech,
was one of the eight former Hokies who signed as undrafted free agents by the end of the day, including two defensive linemen - end Steven Friday and tackle John Graves - who are joining the Houston Texans. That franchise also drafted Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael and already had former Hokies offensive tackle Duane Brown and linebacker Xavier Adibi on the roster.
With 11 players either drafted or signed as free agents, Virginia Tech will have 35 of its former players in NFL camps.
Norfolk State offensive lineman and Indian River graduate Calton Ford said he signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns, where he hopes his versatility will pay off and get him a job as a backup.
Ford has good size at 6-4, 320 pounds, and played both right tackle and left guard last season.
It's assumed the lack of offseason work will hurt rookie free agents, but Ford was still excited about his chance.
'You don't have the OTAs and other things,' Ford said. 'You have to come in and catch on really fast, impress them really fast. But it's a great opportunity.'
Ford spent the summer working out at Norfolk State, and was helping coach at his former high school. He said he took the call from his agent in the middle of the coaching staff's morning meeting and then, after he got off the phone in the evening, he drove to ODU to help the Braves out with a team camp.
Meanwhile, NSU running back Donovan Cotton found a different way to the NFL.
The former walk-on landed an internship in the Green Bay Packers scouting department. Cotton, the only intern in the group, will take a one-month crash course in scouting at the team's training camp, where the Packers will teach him their grading system and what they look for in players.
Cotton said the team would use him to analyze both its players and members of the upcoming draft class.
'They said you'll actually be doing the work, not just getting coffee,' Cotton said
.
Old Dominion defensive end Deron Mayo has agreed to terms and is expected to sign a free-agent contract today with the Denver Broncos.
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Mayo, younger brother of New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, is expected to move to linebacker with the Broncos and hopes to impress the coaching staff with his special teams play.
Although he is small by NFL standards, Mayo said earlier this summer that he hopes people look beyond that and judge him by his production.
'People like (Denver's) Elvis Dumervil and (Pittsburgh's) James Harrison definitely give me hope,' Mayo said. 'I'm 5-11. I look at people like that and it gives me a lot of motivation. It's all about learning the game. I feel I can rush the passer from the edge. It's just a matter of a coach or a team taking a chance on me, which I know will pay off.'
Less than 24 hours after end of the labor dispute, U.Va.'s Danny Aiken was packing for a trip to Buffalo.
Aiken, a deep snapper for the past four seasons, had agreed overnight to a contract offer from the Bills.
The Bills have a returning snapper, third-year pro Garrison Sanborn from Florida State, who has played in 16 games in each of the past two seasons.
'I don't know much, other than I'm going in and competing with him,' said Aiken, who was the only snapper to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. 'He's obviously a pro-caliber snapper because he's been there. It would be the same anywhere else.'
Two of undrafted Aiken's U.Va. teammates also agreed to terms, defensive end Zane Parr with Houston and wide receiver Dontrelle Inman with Jacksonville.
Fullback Kevin Gidrey, a former Kempsville High standout who played last season at South Florida, tweeted that he'd reached a deal with the Washington Redskins.
James Madison's Ronnell Brown, a 6-2, 270-pound defensive tackle out of Hickory High, agreed to terms with Denver.
- Rich Radford, Kyle Tucker, Chris Carlson and the Roanoke Times contributed to this report
CAPTION(S):
Courtesy of JMU athletics
Former Hickory High and James Madison defensive tackle Ronnell Brown agree to terms with Denver.
