Former T-Bird Randall chosen in first round of NFL draft by Packers

  MESA, AZ - Damarious Randall showed enough potential during his one year of football at Mesa that Arizona State decided it wanted to have him play a large role in its defensive secondary for two seasons. The Green Bay Packers must have seen something special in Randall as well as they confounded the experts by taking him in the first round of the NFL draft Thurday.

  Of all the expert opinions that overload the media in the month or so leading up to the draft, no one seemed to give the Pensacola, Fla., native a chance to go in the first round. He was taken with the 30th pick.

  Randall was an All-American in his year at MCC. He led the nation with nine interceptions and made 73 total tackles.

  Once at ASU he quickly made his presence felt by making 19 solo tackles against Notre Dame. That kicked off  a career that eventually saw him named a Sports Illustrated All-American.

  The media experts seemed to like most parts of Randall's game, but felt his size, about 5-11 and 190 pounds, was a drawback. Evidently that was not how the Packers saw things.

  Randall will now likely join a group of 21 other Mesa football players who have made it to the NFL.