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By Gary Cope

Bryan Randall, one of the most beloved football players in Virginia Tech’s history is back in professional football. Team Tennessee (that’s the official name of the team) selected Randall with the No. 2 overall pick in the inaugural All American Football League (AAFL) draft. (Here’s a great article about Randall including an interview with the Hokies living legend.) He was actually taken ahead of former Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch of Nebraska.

Download the complete draft results.

If you have never heard of the AAFL, don’t worry; you are not alone. It’s brand spanking new and it will not compete with the NFL (smart move).

According to its Web site, AllAmericanFootballLeague.com, the league truly lives up to its name and will only “employ” football players who have completed their college football eligibility and have earned a four-year degree. Wow! How’s that for refreshing?

The league will have six team from six states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. So far, none of the teams have names other than “Team Alabama.”

During today’s draft, four former Hokies were selected.

• Bryan Randall (QB) was the 2nd overall (1st round)
• Tim Sandidge (DL) was the 11th overall (2nd round)
• Derrius Monroe (DL) was the 23rd overall pick (4th round)
• Keith Willis (TE) was the 270th overall pick (45th round)

Randall, Sandidge and Monroe were drafted by Team Tennessee, while Willis was drafted by Team Alabama.

About the Draftees

Bryan Randall went undrafted in 2005 following his senior season at Tech. But, he hung around and in 2006 was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. Randall and former Georgia QB D.J. Shockley were battling for the third QB spot behind Michael Vick and Matt Schaub, but Shockley was a Georgia fan favorite and it seemed the Falcons would rather have the hometown guy, even though Randall was probably the better of the two in camp – but it was close.

He was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Chris Simms got hurt in 2006. but was later cut. He is currently listed by the NFL’s Web site as being on the Pittsburgh Steeler’s roster. The Steelers’ Web site also has a bio for him, so maybe he’ll get a look next training camp. In the meantime, it looks like he will get some good off-season conditioning as the starting quarterback for Team Tennessee in the first season of the AAFL.

Tim Sandidge earned his bachelor’s degree from Tech following the 2004 season and was attending graduate school, also at Tech, during his final season with the Hokies in 2005. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2006 by the St. Louis Rams and was on their practice squad for most of the season. The Kansas City Chief signed him off the Rams’ practice squad, but just before the Chiefs playoff game, they needed an extra DB and Sandidge was cut and resigned by the Rams. He has also seen time with the San Diego Chargers and played a season in NFL Europe with the Hamburg Sea Devils, but missed the final NFLEL championship game with a knee injury.

Derrius Monroe, whom many of us remember as the troubled defensive lineman who pled guilty to a felony charge of cocaine possession in 2000, was a seventh-round NFL pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2002, but never played a regular season game. Later that year, he was signed to the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad, but again, never saw any playing time in the regular season. To be quite honest, I was surprised to see Monroe’s name in the list of drafted players. We all are aware of his troubles with the law, but I did not know that despite those troubles, he still earned his degree. So, kudos to Monroe for following through on his education. I hope he has his life on the right track.

Keith Willis earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Virginia Tech and finished his collegiate career following the 2004 season. He has seen time on several NFL rosters: Willis was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He was cut and picked up by the Cleveland Browns in 2005. Seattle signed him in 2006 while he was playing in NFL Europe for the Frankfurt Galaxy. He is currently listed on the Kansas City Chiefs roster.

Congratulations our fellow Hokies. We wish them the best of luck in the inaugural season of the AAFL and hope that it gives them the exposure and experience they need to get a shot at the next level.

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