Wake Forest Athletics
Buffalo Drafts King; Three Deacons Sign As Free Agents
4/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Wake Forest cornerback Eric King was selected in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft on Sunday afternoon. King was chosen by the Buffalo Bills as the 156th overall pick.
"It's just a great feeling to have your named called on Draft Day," King said. "I'm just so blessed to be going to a beautiful city and place like Buffalo."
King was a two-time All-ACC selection, making the first team as a junior and the second team as a senior.
"One of the things about playing in the ACC, I got to see a lot of speed and play against a lot of top-notch receivers. I think that's going to help me and carry me a long way in my future career in Buffalo," King said.
For his career, he started 42 of 46 games, including a stretch of 41 straight contests. He recorded 217 tackles (175 solos) with two sacks and 11 stops for losses of 47 yards. He returned seven interceptions for 143 yards and deflected 39 passes, the second-most in school history. He also recovered six fumbles.
As a senior, King started 10 games and led the team with 11 pass break-ups to rank fourth in the ACC in that category. King tied for third on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and tied for second on the team with two sacks. He forced two fumbles to tie for the second in the ACC.
King, a 5-foot-8, 189 pounder, had started 41 straight games for Wake Forest until a hamstring injury kept him out of the Miami game on Nov. 20, 2004. The native of Woodstock, Md., was the first Deacon to earn All-ACC honors in consecutive years since 1991-92 when former Denver Bronco safety George Coghill accomplished the feat. King earned Wake Forest's Most Outstanding Back award.
King is Wake Forest's first draft pick since 2003 when Calvin Pace, Ovie Mughelli and Montique Sharpe were taken. Buffalo had not drafted a Wake Forest player since Wayne Wolff in 1961.
- King's Final Wake Forest Bio
Thursday, April 28
Three Wake Forest football players have inked free agent contracts in the National Football League. Wide receiver Jason Anderson signed with Tennessee, center Blake Lingruen signed with Detroit and defensive lineman Jerome Nichols signed with Washington.
That trio joins Eric King in the NFL, who was a fifth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills.
Anderson leaves Wake Forest as the school's all-time leader in yards per reception (18.0 ypc), sixth in career receiving touchdowns (15), seventh in receiving yards (2,066) and 11th in receptions (115). The native of Charlotte, N.C., played in 40 career games with 33 starting assignments. He was limited by back and hamstring injuries as a senior, but still played and started seven games.
Anderson was on the receiving end of two of the four longest receiving plays in Wake Forest history. At Clemson in 2004, Anderson caught an 85-yard touchdown pass from Benjamin Mauk. In the 2003 game against East Carolina, Anderson scored on a 79-yard touchdown reception from Cory Randolph.
Anderson had five 100-yard receiving games at Wake Forest, including a career-high 157 yards with two touchdowns in the 2002 Seattle Bowl, a 38-24 victory against Oregon. He also posted 100-yard performances against Clemson, Navy, North Carolina and Virginia.
- Anderson's Final Wake Forest Bio
Lingruen started at center in 29 games with the Deacons as a three-year starter at center. The ironman of the offensive line, he played 768 snaps and graded out at 86 percent with 101 knockdown blocks. Lingruen helped pave the way for the 2nd-best rushing offense in the ACC (206.1 ypg) and a rushing offense that ranked 19th in the nation.
In 2003, the native of Liberty Center, Ohio, was named a second-team Junior Class All-America by CollegeSportsReport.com. He started 11 games in 2003 and was named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week after grading out at 92 percent and leading the team with 13 knockdowns at Duke when the Deacons rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns.
- Lingruen's Final Wake Forest Bio
Nichols played in 39 games as a Deacon and started the final 22. He registered 61 career tackles, including 18 for loss and four sacks. He batted down 10 passes and intercepted two. As a senior, he started ten games at defensive tackle after playing most of his career at defensive end. Nichols had 22 tackles with 17 solo stops, including 5.5 tackles for loss. The native of Glenn Dale, Md., had sacks against Miami and NC State and blocked a field goal attempt at East Carolina.
As a junior, Nichols had two interceptions, two sacks, six pass break-ups and fumble recovery and a blocked kick. Both of his interceptions came against the ACC's 2003 preseason Heisman candidates -- NC State's Philip Rivers and Virginia's Matt Schaub. His pick was the first by a Wake Forest defensive lineman since 1988.
- Nichols' Final Wake Forest Bio
