NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Five Texas A&M football student-athletes were selected on day three of the NFL Draft. Defensive linemen Kingsley Keke and Daylon Mack, running backs Trayveon Williams and Cullen Gillaspia and defensive back Donovan Wilson heard their names called on the final day of the draft.
The five selections on Saturday brought the total number of Aggies drafted in 2019 to seven, setting a program record for most picks in the modern draft era. The Aggies saw six players selected in the 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2003 drafts. The all-time record for Texas A&M was 10 in 1976 when the NFL Draft was 17 rounds.
Keke was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 12th pick of the fifth round. He earned the Mr. Versatile Award as well as the Strength and Conditioning Defensive Aggie Award following the 2019 season. Appeared in all 52 games as an Aggie, leading the team with seven quarterback sacks last season and finishing second with 11 tackles for loss.
“He’s been on my radar for a while,” Green Bay college scout Charles Walls said. “He’s a guy that school has talked about for a long time as a guy to be excited about for the future. They played him more on the edge, and you could see his athleticism come through little more as a pass rusher, which was intriguing.”
Mack heard his named called by the Baltimore Ravens with the 22nd pick in the fifth round. He earned the Most Improved Defensive Lineman Award following his senior season in which he turned in his best performance in the maroon and white. After starting all 13 games as a senior, Mack compiled 32 tackles and finished third on the team with 5.5 sacks.
“He’s a big strong guy that we saw at the East West Game as well as the Senior Bowl,” Baltimore Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said. “He has two gap ability as a nose tackle and is also a sneaky pass rusher. For a big guy, he ran a five-flat forty yard dash and moves pretty well.”
Williams was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals with ninth pick of the sixth round. He etched his name into the Texas A&M record books in dramatic fashion in the Gator Bowl with a 93-yard touchdown to become the A&M single-season rushing yard record holder. Last season, Williams paced the SEC in rushing yardage and total touchdowns to earn All-America honors from a trio of publications.
With the 41st pick in the sixth round, Wilson became the newest member of the Dallas Cowboys. Last season, he tallied 66 total tackles to finish second on the team and recorded a pair of interceptions and quarterback sacks. After returning from a season ending injury in the 2017 season, Wilson rebounded to garner the Aggie Heart Award and Defensive Leadership Award at the conclusion of his senior season.
For first time in history, Texas A&M’s 12th Man was drafted into the NFL as Gillaspia was announced as the sixth pick of the seventh round by the Houston Texans. He matched the A&M school record for appearances as the 12th Man and became the first 12th Man to score a touchdown as he rumbled in from 13 yards out against NC State in the Gator Bowl.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics