Monday, 4/21/97 Sports Briefs
Pro hopefuls left disappointed For the first time since 1942,
the NFL draft has come and gone – and not one UCLA player was
selected. Abdul McCullough, Paul Guidry, Travis Kirschke and
Phillip Ward were among the UCLA players who didn’t hear their
names called Saturday or Sunday. However, the four Bruin alumni can
still sign on to professional teams as free agents. The top five
picks of the draft went on as expected, with St. Louis using the
first choice – obtained on Thursday from the Jets – on Orlando
Pace, the 340-pound offensive tackle from Ohio State who was easily
the draft’s top-rated player. Oakland then took defensive tackle
Darrell Russell of Southern California. Baltimore, attempting to
trade its pick, took Florida State defensive end Peter Boulware and
Detroit picked cornerback Bryant Westbrook of Texas. Then Bill
Parcells struck again. Parcells, head coach of the New York Jets,
sent the sixth pick – which he got from the Rams for the No. 1 in
an earlier trade – to Tampa for the eighth overall pick and an
extra fourth-rounder. The Bucs then turned around and sent the pick
to Seattle, which used it to take Walter Jones, the Florida State
offensive tackle. Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire
reports.