Two former Colorado prep players were early third-round selections in Saturday’s NFL draft.
Arizona State quarterback Andrew Walter – a Grand Junction native who broke the Pac-10 Conference record for touchdown passes set by John Elway and ASU records set by – was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the fifth pick in the third round (No. 69).
Denver’s Alex Smith – a tight end at Stanford – was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two picks later. Smith, the second tight end selected, was an All-American at Mullen.
The 6-foot-5, 234-pound Walter, who had shoulder surgery in December and was not able to throw at the NFL combine, was the fifth quarterback selected.
“It just put me on the back burner. I think I was able to do that stuff, but I don’t know to what degree because I wasn’t able to show it,” Walter said.
Walter’s 85 touchdown passes broke Elway’s record of 77, and Walter finished with a school-record 10,617 passing yards, fifth most in Pac-10 history.
Smith, son of former Broncos player Edwin Smith, hoped to hear his named called in the first two rounds.
“I’m very relieved and very happy to be going (to the Buccaneers),” said Smith, 6-4 and 258 pounds. “I really liked their coaching staff from the beginning. I met them at the combine and had a good feeling about going there.”
Smith finished second nationally among tight ends last season with 52 receptions and was runner-up for the Mackey Award, which goes to the country’s top tight end.
Smith had 107 career catches for the Cardinal for 1,291 yards (706 this season) and eight touchdowns.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
