Knox goes to Bears in 5th; Bengals grab Scott in 6th

For the first time since 1983, the ACU Wildcats had multiple players selected in the NFL Draft as both Johnny Knox and Bernard Scott were selected Sunday on the second day of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Knox went to the Chicago Bears with the fourth pick of the fifth round (140th overall), while Scott was the final pick of the sixth round (209th overall), going to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The last time ACU had more than one player drafted was 1983 when center Grant Feasel went to the Colts in the sixth round and wide receiver Steve Parker went to the Patriots in the 11th round. The 2009 draft marks the ninth time that ACU has had multiple players selected with the record being three players picked in both the 1956 and 1977 drafts.

In 1956, the San Francisco 49ers selected end Charley Smith in the eighth round, back Gene Boyd in the 15th round and back Paul Goad in the 25th round. In 1977, Johnny Perkins was selected by the Giants in the second round, while running back Wilbert Montgomery went to Philadelphia in the sixth round and placekicker Ove Johansson went to the Houston Oilers in the 12th round.

Knox will join former ACU all-America defensive back Danieal Manning on the Chicago Bears' roster. Manning was the Bears' first selection (second round, 42nd pick) in the 2006 draft and has been a part-time starter for the Bears and started at safety in Super Bowl XXXL in February 2007.

Knox became ACU's all-time leader in touchdown receptions in 2008, finishing his two-year career with 30 TD receptions. He also finished in the top 10 in ACU history in catches and receiving yards.

Scott, the 2008 Harlon Hill Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division II football, became ACU's all-time leading rusher in just two seasons, piling up 4,321 yards in just 25 games (172.8 yards per game). He topped the 2,000-yard mark twice, becoming the only player in LSC history to put together multiple 2,000-yard rushing seasons. His 63 rushing touchdowns are second in ACU history, and his 73 total touchdowns are second in both ACU and LSC history.

This season he rushed for 2,156 yards (second in LSC and ACU single-season history behind his 2,165 yards in 2007) and 28 touchdowns and caught 47 passes for 826 yards and another six touchdowns. He led NCAA Division II in points per game (17.0) and all-purpose yards (256.8 yards per game) and was second in rushing, averaging 179.7 yards per game.

He led ACU to an 11-1 record, the program’s first outright Lone Star Conference championship since 1973, the program’s highest-ever NCAA Division II national ranking (No. 2) and to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Scott averaged 8.4 yards per carry and rushed for more than 200 yards in four of the Wildcats’ final six games of the 2008 season. Scott ran for at least 100 yards in his last 17 games dating back to the 2007 season.

Scott was at his best in the big games as he helped ACU to an 8-3 record against top-25 opponents over the last two seasons. In those 11 games he rushed for 2,277 yards (207.0 per game), scored 38 rushing touchdowns and caught four touchdown passes while posting 631 receiving yards (57.4 per game).

He made his case for this year’s Harlon Hill Trophy in two games against West Texas A&M when he shredded the Buffaloes’ defense in leading the Wildcats to a pair of wins. In a 52-35 win over the Buffs in Canyon on Oct. 18, Scott rushed for 268 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 141 yards and one touchdown to set an LSC and ACU single-game record with 409 all-purpose yards.

In the Wildcats’ wild 93-68 NCAA Division II second-round playoff win over the Buffs on Nov. 22, Scott rushed for 292 yards and six touchdowns and caught three passes for 61 yards and one touchdown. His six rushing touchdowns, seven total touchdowns and 42 total points were all NCAA Division II Playoff, NCAA Division II, LSC and ACU single-game records.

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