Illinois Fighting Illini: Four Illini hear their names called at NFL Draft

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The Illinois Fighting Illini had four players - Hugh Thornton (Indianapolis Colts), Akeem Spence (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Terry Hawthorne (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Michael Buchanan (New England Patriots) - selected in the recently completed NFL Draft. There were no surprises of which four were picked among the 254 selections, but the order in which they went was not what many analysts believed.

Thornton, an offensive lineman, was the first to go, as expected. The Indianapolis Colts grabbed the 6-foot-3, 230-pound lineman with their third round pick. Thornton was the 86th overall selection, coming late Friday night.


Indianapolis general manager Ryan Grigson told the Indianapolis Star that, "(Thornton) was targeted once we woke up Friday morning."

Thornton, who joins his former offensive line coach, Joe Gilbert, from Illinois, is expected to battle guards Mike McGlynn and Joe Reitz for starter's time. He played left tackle last season for the Illini.

Thornton was projected to go in the third or fourth round by CBS Sports.

The defensive tackle Smith went next, exactly 14 picks later. Smith, the 100th overall selection and third of the fourth round, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.


The Bucs traded up to secure Smith, who grew up a six-hour drive away from Tampa Bay in Fort Walton Beach. The trade with the Raiders, which moved Tampa up 12 spots, cost the Buccaneers the fourth round pick and a sixth round pick.

Spence, in a Tampa Bay press release, said he was excited to finally get the phone call on Saturday.
“I knew the coach liked me at the Combine a whole lot,” said Spence shortly after he got the happy call on Saturday.  I was thinking it was going to be yesterday, but I just had to wait an extra day.  But I knew they liked me a lot.  I had heard the third [round], so my heart was set on third.  I was thinking maybe I would jump in the second.  Yesterday, I felt down.  But to get that call this morning was a sigh of relief.”
At 6-1, 300 pounds, Spence could be an immediate starter at nose tackle after Tampa lost Roy Miller to Jacksonville in free agency. Spence was expected to be a fourth round pick by CBS Sports.

While the first two picks went as expected, Hawthorne went in front of Buchanan. Hawthorne, a corner back expected to be either a fifth or sixth round pick by CBS Sports, went midway through the fifth round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was the 150th selection, a pick after the St. Louis Rams selected corner back Brandon McGee, out of Miami.


In a press conference addressing the draft, Pittsburgh general manager was ecstatic about the Hawthorne's speed. He clocked in at 4.44 in his 40-yard dash, placing him 13th among defensive backs.
"He is fast. What I like about Terry is that he has a lot of upside potential that I see in him. I think he has all the physical tools. He is big. He is fast. He doesn’t mind tackling, and he can play press coverage well, kind of in the same way as an Ike Taylor."
Hawthorne, an East St. Louis product, could use that speed in the return game for Pittsburgh. During his four years at Illinois, Hawthorne returned 18 kicks for an average of 19.3 yards.

Maybe the biggest surprise of the Illini draftees was Buchanan, a defensive end, lasting all the way until the seventh round. The New England Patriots grabbed Buchanan with the 235th pick.


Buchanan, expected to go in the fourth or fifth round by CBS Sports, is a 6-5 pass rusher that had a 40 speed of 4.78 and did 22 reps on the bench press at the NFL Combine. It is expected the drop in the draft may be due to character issues. Those issues were an arrest for a DUI in 2010, and he later broke his jaw in fight before the start of the 2012 season.

With four players selected, the Illini led the Big Ten in players selected. It is a surprising accomplishment for a team that went 2-10 last season. This was also the fourth straight season that Illinois had at least four players selected.

Thornton, a third-round selection, was the 10th Illini to go in the top three rounds since 2010. That is also a conference best. Center Graham Pocic (Houston Texans) and defensive end Justin Staples (Cleveland Browns) have each signed as undrafted free agents.

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