The Top 5 NFL Draft picks in Delaware State football history
DOVER, Del. (BVM) — While the Delaware State University Hornets football program has not had the longest resume of players moving on to the professional level, they have seen their fair share of athletes selected in the NFL Draft over the years. Ten Hornets have been selected since 1964, including a couple who had standout careers in the league. Below are the top five DSU players picked, listed from the highest draft pick to the lowest selected.
Steve Davis (1971) Round 3, Pick 60 by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Having the distinct honor as the highest selected player in DSU鈥檚 long football history, Davis was able to stick in the NFL for a handful of years after being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1971 NFL Draft. Davis spent his first three seasons with the Steelers where he would win Super Bowl IX in 1974 and totaled 39 games played with six starts, 597 rushing yards and 188 receiving yards with seven total touchdowns (five rushing, two receiving). Davis would spend his final two years with the New York Jets where he would play in 26 games with nine starts and rushed for 708 yards with 113 receiving yards and scored four rushing touchdowns. He last played in 1976.
John Taylor (1986) Round 3, Pick 76 by the San Francisco 49ers
Likely the most recognizable name to fans unfamiliar with Hornets football, Taylor was both a DSU and San Francisco 49ers legend. During his time in Dover, Taylor rewrote the record books as he finished his Delaware State career as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1985, earning Black College and Division I-AA All-America honors after topping the MEAC with 15 touchdowns to lead the Hornets to their first conference championship in team history. Many of his records still stand including holding the record for career touchdown receptions with 33, receiving yards in a game with 223 and the top two longest receptions at 97 yards and 93 yards, respectively.聽
Once he entered the NFL, Taylor continued his strong play as he became a two-time Pro Bowler, a three-time Super Bowl champion and was a member of the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team as a punt returner. In nine seasons with the 49ers, Taylor had 347 catches, 5,598 receiving yards and 43 touchdown grabs and was also the first player in NFL history with two touchdown receptions of 90-or-more yards in a game.
He is a member of the Delaware State University Athletics Hall of Fame, MEAC Hall of Fame, Delaware Sports Hall of Fame and in
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Rodney Gunter (2015) Round 4, Pick 116 by the Arizona Cardinals
The most recent player on the list, Gunter played five years in the NFL before a heart condition forced in the summer of last year. Gunter played all five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in March 2020, where he would not play a regular season game.聽
Over his five-year career, Gunter played in 77 games with 38 starts and recorded 126 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery with the Cardinals. During his time at DSU, Gunter was a two-time All-MEAC selection, played in 45 games with the Hornets and tallied 187 total tackles (96 solo), 38 tackles-for-loss and 16 sacks.聽聽
Good luck my dawgs tomorrow beat Seattle 鈥硷笍鈥硷笍
— Rodney Gunter (@KingRod90)
Rod Milstead (1992) Round 5, Pick 121 Dallas Cowboys
The current head coach of the Hornets football team was no slouch when it came to playing the game either. Milstead was a three-time All-MEAC First Team selection (1989, 鈥�90, 91) and a 1991 Associated Press, Walter Camp and Sheridan Black College All-America first team pick. In 1989, he helped lead the Hornets to the MEAC championship and a share of the conference title in both 1988 and 1991. He was named the university鈥檚 Male Athlete of the Year and Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 1992 and was inducted into the Hornets鈥� Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
After being selected by the Cowboys in the 1992 NFL Draft, Milstead was traded to the Cleveland Browns where he wouldn鈥檛 appear in any games. In 1994, Milstead signed with the San Francisco 49ers, joining Taylor, and would win Super Bowl XXIX with the team. He stayed with the 49ers for four seasons where he played in 36 games with 12 starts. In 1998, he signed with Washington where he would play for two seasons with 20 appearances and 11 starts.聽
He has been the Hornets head coach since January 2018.
Some pills are Harder to Swallow. This one is stuck in my Throat. RIP Tony T-Bone Jones.
— Coach Milstead (@Milstead69)
Lybrant Robinson (1989) Round 5, Pick 139 Washington Football Team
Although his NFL career would only span one season and five games played for the then-Washington Redskins, Lybrant Robinson did make a career for himself north of the border in the Canadian Football League. Robinson would play eight seasons in the CFL for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1991-94 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1994-97. Little is known about Robinson and his current life, but he did receive in 2017 after his high school, James M. Bennett High School in Salisbury, Maryland, decided to purchase the members of the 1982, 1983 and 1985 teams rings for their state titles.
Twenty-five years ago, a Rough Riders win marked the start of the 鈥檚 American experiment says
Photo via: @cflphotoarchive— 3DownNation (@3DownNation)
