Kevin Booth ol is a raider

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Art talks about Boothe and the rest of the draft picks...

Raiders Excited About Draft

May 1, 2006


Shortly after 3:00 p.m. yesterday, Paul Salata, who founded the "Mr. Irrelevant" award in 1976, stepped to the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York to announce the final selection in the 2006 NFL Draft. With that pick, The Oakland Raiders added Maine WR Kevin McMahan to an exciting, versatile 2006 Draft class.

The Raiders selected seven players in all during the NFL's 71st Annual Selection Meeting - Texas safety Michael Huff, UTEP LB Thomas Howard, Weber State OL Paul McQuistan, USC safety Darnell Bing, Cornell OL Kevin Boothe, Michigan State C Chris Morris and Maine WR Kevin McMahan.

"We will always take what we think is the best player for our football team and if that happens to be a need for us then so be it," Raiders Head Coach Art Shell told the Bay Area media at the conclusion of the Draft. "I think it went well for the Raiders. I would say we got the players that we wanted."

The Raiders began Day 2 of the Draft and selected Bing with their 4th Round choice. Bing started 35 games for the Trojans. He recorded 182 tackles (120 solos) and had 12.5 stops for losses of 29 yards, including an assisted sack. He caused three fumbles while recovering another. He deflected eighteen passes and intercepted eight others for 161 yards in returns (20.1 avg) and a touchdown. His 161 yards on eight interception returns rank fourteenth on the school's career-record list. Bing was an All-American first-team selection by the Associated Press after the 2005 season.

"[Bing] can play on the box, he can run and he can cover," Coach Shell said. "We decided that he would be a good prospect as a linebacker. That's where were projecting him."


The Raiders selected Cornell offensive lineman Kevin Boothe with their 6th Round pick. The 6'4", 320-pounder was a three-time All-Ivy League selection and only the fourth Cornell player to earn All-Ivy League honors three times in a career. "He lost a lot of weight he moves a whole lot better," Coach Shell said. "We did get some big guys, you can't have enough of the big guys. He was a left tackle [at Cornell] but we saw him at a All-star game where he played guard."

With the first of two 7th Round choices, the Raiders stayed on the offensive line and picked up Michigan State C Chris Morris. The 6'4", 305-pounder was a three-year starter for the Spartans. Morris, who started his last 45 games at Michigan State, recorded 186 career knockdown blocks and allowed only one sack over the past two seasons. In 2005, he earned Academic All-America honors for the fourth straight year.

"One thing you learn when you come in this league, you are going to be more than just a center. Versatility is important for a young guy when he comes in," Coach Shell said. "Any time you find anybody who can snap the ball, it bodes well for that young man and that bodes well for your football team. [Morris] will come in and compete and work as a center, and have the opportunity at the guard position."

And last, but certainly not least, the Raiders selected Maine WR Kevin McMahan with the final choice in the 2006 NFL Draft.

"McMahan is 6'2" and he can run and he can catch the ball," Coach Shell said. "We saw some cut ups of him against Nebraska. The guy was exciting."

The Draft class will get their first taste of life in the NFL when they arrive in California later this week. The Raiders will get their first look at the complete 2006 squad starting Friday morning during the team's mandatory mini-camp at the Silver and Black's Alameda, Calif., facility.
 
Kevin Boothe - Tackle

Height: 6'4
Weight: 327lbs.
College: Cornell

Bio: Easily Division I-AA's top offensive lineman. Boothe has great size and easily man handles opposing defensive lineman. Should be one of the first small schoolers off the board.



What will you be doing to prepare for Aprils NFL Draft?

I'm actually training in Orlando, FL right now.

Its no secret about the size of your arms, do you enjoy throwing around smaller defensive lineman?

Ha, well, it's not easy. I've gone against smaller guys and my technique has paid off. I will have to continue to improve to succeed at the next level.

Would you say your a better run or pass blocker?

I would say run blocker because we ran the ball quite a bit this past season at Cornell.

You have experience at basically every position on the offensive line, what role do you see yourself playing on an NFL team?

From what i hear, I will be a guard. I'm hoping that the fact I have played tackle will help my stock.

Do you feel coming from a smaller school you will need more time to adjust to the NFL?

I don't think so. I will definitely have to adjust, but it should not be any more time than a major D-1 guy.

What defensive lineman are you most looking forward to facing in the NFL?

No one in particular. I am just looking forward to playing on a level that I have dreamed about since I was a child.

Who has been the best player you have faced throughout your college career?

Probably, Nick Hartigan from Brown. I know I did not play against him because he was on offense, but his durability, toughness, and character is tremendous.

Any expectations as where you will be selected come April?

I have no expectations. Whenever, where ever, I will be excited. I'm just looking for an opportunity.

What current NFL player would you most compare your style of game too?

I don't know. I watch a lot of football, but I don't know who's style I emulate. I probably try to learn as much as I can from everyone.


What will you miss most about college football?


It would be the time with my teammates, because we are in class together, practice together, and games. I have so many fond memories of college, that I will cherish forever. The guys on the team will be my friends for life.
 
No shock. Everything you've brought us about this guy looks good.
 
An award for Boothe....

Boothe Named Sun's Athlete of the Year '06

By Brian Tsao
Sun Senior Writer

Clearing a path. Senior offensive lineman Kevin Boothe (77) was a four-time All-Ivy selection and the football team's Pop Warner MVP during his career at Cornell.

The big guy was getting a little nervous.

Names flickered across the bottom of the television like stocks being bought on Wall Street. He waited.

Finally, as ESPN was talking about one of the top-10 picks in the entire NFL draft, it was official - Kevin Boothe, offensive lineman, sixth round, Oakland Raiders.

Back at home, in Plantation Fla., the big guy took a big sigh of relief. He spoke briefly to Oakland head coach Art Shell and offensive line coach Jackie Slater - both Hall-of-Famers on the O-Line. He hung up, and sat down. He did it.

"It's crazy," Boothe said over the phone on Tuesday. "Just thinking back, it was just yesterday when I was coming to Cornell. I kind of had a bit of the butterflies about going on to the NFL. But I'm ready, I've learned a lot about myself and football in the last five years. I'm looking forward to take the next step."

However, Boothe is not merely the Cornell Daily Sun's Senior Athlete of the Year for that most recent step last Sunday. Instead, it is because of all of those little steps in between arriving at Cornell and departing for the NFL that has made him one of the most successful and recognizable athletes in his class.

But an offensive lineman? Recognizable? Sure, it's obvious that Boothe has almost every accolade a Division I-AA lineman could attain - first team All-American and four-time All-Ivy selection. Besides that though, it is hard to quantify his impact with the position he plays. Perhaps the easiest way to do it is just to watch him.

"He's the only offensive lineman I have ever seen who would draw cheers from the crowd," said Cornell head coach Jim Knowles '87. "When you showed film of him to the rest of the team ? it was an example [of how to play]."

Last season, when the Red earned a successful 6-4 season, Boothe was not hard to miss. Watching this 6-4, 310-pound linemen push around Ivy opponents like shopping carts was almost poetic - both for his mastery of his foe, and the mere fact that his pushing led teammates sophomore running back Luke Siwula and senior Ryan Kuhn to 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Manhandling defensive linemen on a consistent basis, yes, that's usually a great example of how to play.

"We're kind of anonymous - if we're getting talked about, most of the time, it's for a bad reason … [When we do well,] we feel just as good as the other guys. We knew we had a role in that success," he said.

However, when his team needed a yard, they almost always went through Boothe.

"I think anybody who's competitive wants their number called in crucial situations, so that's something I'm looking forward to. It's something I took pride in," he said.

The man's toughness is unquestioned. After breaking both of his hands, Boothe missed only one week before coming out and playing - even with Cornell in the midst of an atrocious 1-9 season. He's battled several injuries over his time at East Hill, including an ankle injury that made him miss freshman year, but he has quietly persevered.

"There's nobody tougher," Knowles said. "He never would say a word. You could totally count on him, even if he was hurt, to play through the pain."

Boothe is a rarity. He's the first Cornell player drafted in the NFL Draft since Chad Levitt '97 and Seth Payne '97 in 1997 and, as Knowles notes, the specter of someone from East Hill playing in one of the most popular leagues in the nation is almost as rare as a comet sighting.

"The statistics don't lie," Knowles said. "The Ivy League, these days, is going to have one guy each year who is going to be drafted."

Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. said that the lineman could go as high as the second round, other scouts thought he'd go early on the second day. Boothe had dropped at least 40 pounds since his freshman year to become the lean, mean blocking machine that opponents feared and teammates loved. But on Sunday, with his family around him, he was still nervous. He had taken all of the little steps to get to that couch that day, overcoming serious injury, leading the football team back from Ivy League obscurity and establishing himself as Cornell's most important player - even though he is, well, only an offensive lineman.

But luckily for him, his name was called. He's in California now, participating in mini-camp, taking steps he could not even imagined when he first came to Ithaca.

As for the program he left behind, his tracks are still prevalent. His larger-than-life picture is the background of a ceiling-to-floor display box talking about the new football team under Knowles. And on one of the trophies, his name is imprinted. The award? The team's Pop Warner Most Valuable Player.

Not bad for just an offensive lineman.

"It's a great honor to be looked upon that way and it's something that I will definitely cherish," Boothe said about The Sun's award. "It's an exciting award and it shows that people do pay attention to an offensive lineman."
 
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