Sharrif Floyd

NEW YORK - Sharrif Floyd, who first made his name playing football for a high school on Bustleton Avenue - George Washington High, in the Philadelphia Public League - was picked 23d overall in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The surprise was that Floyd didn't go a lot higher. A massive defensive tackle with a sprinter's burst, the former Florida Gators star left after his junior year after his college coaches told him he would be a first-round draft choice.

SOME TIME Thursday night, probably early, Sharrif Floyd's incessant nervous foot tapping is going to cease when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell strides to the Radio City Music Hall podium and calls his name. Floyd will rise slowly, dressed impeccably in a tailor-made suit, maybe a little diamond bling dangling from his ear, and begin the perfunctory hugs of his inner circle. Then tears will slowly dribble down from his big, round cheeks and it will all flow back to him. Who they are. What they did. The role they all played.

The Eagles are scheduled to host Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd for a pre-draft workout on April 5, an NFL source said. Even though Floyd is considered a local prospect - he graduated from George Washington High - he will count against the Eagles' 30 allotted workouts. NFL teams are given one day before the draft to work out any players that either hail from nearby or attended a college in the vicinity. Floyd is considered a certain top-10 pick and a likely top-five selection.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Sharrif Floyd had his Friday planned. There was a little window in the midst of preparation for the NFL scouting combine, enough for the George Washington High graduate to steal over to a white quartz beach at nearby Siesta Key. "You can't argue on a beach," said Floyd, who is the best NFL prospect in years to have grown up in Philadelphia, in the city itself. "You can't do anything wrong on a beach. " It's not, let's get out there to party, Floyd said. He just likes to sit down and relax and look out at the water, stretching his eyes to the horizon.

NEW YORK - Earlier this year, in the days leading up to the NFL combine, Sharrif Floyd sat down and talked about his preparations for the draft. In a conversation that lasted close to an hour in Bradenton, Fla., the George Washington High graduate didn't give the slightest inkling that he thought he would be a top-five pick. He certainly never suggested that he thought it was his birthright. It seemed then that the first round was the goal and the anticipation. Floyd sounded as if he'd be fine even if he would eventually get drafted 23d - as it played out Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall when the Minnesota Vikings called Floyd's name.

As a top prospect at George Washington High School in 2009, Sharrif Floyd visited the Eagles' training facility when the team recognized academic and athletic achievers in local high schools. He remembers the visit four years later, including then-coach Andy Reid's calling him by his nickname, "Reef. " On April 5, Floyd again visited the NovaCare Complex. He was still being honored for his achievements, but the Eagles had more immediate interests, too. The Eagles welcomed Floyd because the defensive tackle from Florida is one of the top prospects in the draft.

For those who think NCAA rules on amateurism are outdated and hypocritical, Sharrif Floyd could be a folk hero. Floyd found a most interesting way around some of those rules. When the George Washington High graduate went off to play football at Florida, he didn't have anyone in his life who could afford to help him out financially within the rules. At first, that got Floyd in trouble with the NCAA. Then he was adopted, at age 20. NCAA rules were broken that forced Floyd to sit out two games in 2011.

From the This Week in the NCAA files: A University of Florida defensive lineman, Sharrif Floyd from Philadelphia, who sat out last week's opener, was suspended Thursday for an additional game for receiving illegal benefits. Where did those benefits come from? A foundation run by a high school wood shop teacher from South Jersey who used to coach high school football. That's according to the foundation's president, who explained that the connection began with a conversation by the beach in Wildwood.

In every recruiting process, hopefully, there's that time when the light goes on. Even if a guy's eyes are not in danger of being scorched, he knows that somehow, some way, this college will almost certainly be the one. Colin Thompson, a 6-5, 255-pound junior tight end at Archbishop Wood High, Thursday made an oral commitment to play football at the University of Florida and well after the news conference, held in the auditorium, was completed,...

IN THE FOURTH round of the NFL draft Saturday, the picks at Nos. 110 and 116 could have been announced as Hyped Philly Guy and Unhyped Philly Guy. Former Malvern Prep and Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib, the first of those players to be tabbed (by the New York Giants), long has maintained a national profile and even appeared in individual promos, accompanied by The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now?" that were part of the televised coverage. Six slots later, the Arizona Cardinals selected a relative unknown in Earl Watford, a guard from Simon Gratz and James Madison University.

NEW YORK - Earlier this year, in the days leading up to the NFL combine, Sharrif Floyd sat down and talked about his preparations for the draft. In a conversation that lasted close to an hour in Bradenton, Fla., the George Washington High graduate didn't give the slightest inkling that he thought he would be a top-five pick. He certainly never suggested that he thought it was his birthright. It seemed then that the first round was the goal and the anticipation. Floyd sounded as if he'd be fine even if he would eventually get drafted 23d - as it played out Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall when the Minnesota Vikings called Floyd's name.

NEW YORK - Sharrif Floyd, who first made his name playing football for a high school on Bustleton Avenue - George Washington High, in the Philadelphia Public League - was picked 23d overall in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The surprise was that Floyd didn't go a lot higher. A massive defensive tackle with a sprinter's burst, the former Florida Gators star left after his junior year after his college coaches told him he would be a first-round draft choice.

The first round of the NFL draft: 1. Chiefs: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan 2. Jaguars: Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M 3. Dolphins (from Raiders): Dion Jordan, LB, Oregon 4. EAGLES: Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma 5. Lions: Ziggy Ansah, DE, Brigham Young 6. Browns: Barkevious Mingo, DE, Louisiana State 7. Cardinals: Jonathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina 8. Rams (from Bills): Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia 9. Jets: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama 10. Titans: Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama 11. Chargers: D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama 12. Raiders (from Dolphins)

In football, there are only three possible outcomes: Win, lose or draw. In the draft, the possibilities are endless, even for the Eagles, who will select fourth overall when the NFL's annual roll of the dice commences Thursday night. Will they select Central Michigan tackle Eric Fisher? Will he even be there? Will Chip Kelly choose his former player, Oregon outside linebacker Dion Jordan, with his first pick as Eagles coach? Or will he choose Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson? Or maybe Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei?

NEW YORK - Sharrif Floyd's finest hour lasted about 2 hours longer than he expected. Floyd expected to be selected in the first hour of the NFL Draft, which began at 8 p.m. He lasted until almost 11. The Minnesota Vikings took him 23rd overall. Rated as a top-five pick, Floyd's athleticism and versatility at defensive tackle did not fully outweigh his rough edges and his inconsistent ability to withstand targeted contact and to shake double-teams. Manti Te'o and Geno Smith had better-known back stories (real and imagined)

Here's Marcus Hayes' take on Lane Johnson from Thursday's Daily News. NEW YORK - When Chelsea Goodman met Lane Johnson 4 years ago, she could not have known all that she would bring to their relationship. A high jumper for the Oklahoma track team, Chelsea met Johnson when he transferred after a year of junior college. A big, strong athlete, Johnson, star prep quarterback in Texas, was not college QB material. He went to Oklahoma as a tight end. By the time their relationship blossomed, Johnson was a defensive end for the Sooners - just like her father, John Goodman, in the late 1970s, before a 5-year stint with the Steelers.

NEW YORK - The household names in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft will be offensive linemen, a rare occurrence that speaks to both the lack of glamour players this season and the quality of linemen. The first pick will be made by former Eagles coach Andy Reid, now the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid is expected to take Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel, a 6-foot-6, 306-pound left tackle. Central Michigan's Eric Fisher is also a possibility for the No. 1 pick and almost assuredly will be a top-five pick.

Here are the top players with local connections in the NFL draft: Sharrif Floyd, Florida, junior, defensive tackle. The 6-foot-3, 303-pound George Washington High School graduate is one of the top prospects in the draft and could go as early as No. 2 overall. Justin Pugh, Syracuse, senior, offensive line. There's a strong chance that the 6-5, 298-pound tackle, a graduate of Council Rock South High School, may move inside to guard. He may hear his name called before the end of the first round.