University of North Carolina Athletics
Ekuban, Bly, Davis Selected in First 50 Picks
June 21, 1999 | Football
April 17, 1999
The Dallas Cowboys selected University of North Carolina senior Ebenezer Ekuban with the 20th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft Saturday. Ekuban will join former UNC teammate Greg Ellis with the Cowboys. Ellis was the eighth pick in the first round in the 1998 NFL Draft and started every game last fall for the Cowboys. Ekuban became the 14th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the Draft. Last year, Ellis, linebacker Brian Simmons and defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday were chosen in the opening round.
Junior cornerback Dre' Bly was selected by the St. Louis Rams with the 41st overall pick, 10 picks into the second round. Bly opted to enter the NFL Draft after his junior season. He set the alltime Atlantic Coast Conference record with 20 interceptions. Seven picks later at #48, the Chicago Bears selected senior defensive tackle Russell Davis. The Fayetteville, N.C., native was hampered much of the 1998 season with an ankle sprain.
With the selections of Ekuban, Bly and Davis, that means 10 defensive players who led the Tar Heels to an 11-1 record and the No. 4 final national ranking in 1997 have been drafted by NFL teams. Last year, seven players off that defense were selected.
UNC is the only school in the ACC to have at least one player drafted every year since 1971.
Ekuban, Bly and Davis are the 36th, 37th and 38th Tar Heel players to be drafted by NFL Teams in the 1990s. Last year, there were 39 former Carolina players active in the NFL.
