Booty correct about Minnesota

Booty correct about Minnesota

Southern California quarterback John David Booty had a premonition he would be picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL draft. Booty said on ESPN television 10 days ago he thought the Vikings were high on him, and that's the team that would probably select him.

He proved to be prophetic.

On Sunday, Minnesota selected Booty, who played at Evangel Christian in Shreveport, in the fifth round with the 137th pick.

Booty's selection headed a banner day for players with Louisiana ties.

Booty, who is 6 feet 3, 213 pounds, passed for 2,361 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in the 2007 season and led the Trojans to a victory against Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

Booty told the media in Minnesota he had a good feeling about the Vikings.

"I met with them at the Senior Bowl and I talked with their coaches after the practices and met them there and all of that and knew that they were interested," he said. "I just didn't know, you know, how high or low they would end up taking a quarterback or when I would still be around, late or early. I didn't know."

Now that he is going to be a Viking, Booty said he is excited about the chance to play for Minnesota and possibly compete with incumbent Tarvaris Jackson to be the starting quarterback.

"All of us athletes know that any player in the NFL is a great player, and I know Tarvaris Jackson is," Booty said. "I just want to come in there, and I'm a big team guy. I just want to get in there and talk with him and learn as much as I can from him."

UCLA's Chris Horton, a 6-foot, 212-pound free safety who attended De La Salle, was selected by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round with the 249th pick. Horton had 117 tackles (86 solo), 21 tackles for losses, 12 caused fumbles, seven blocked kicks, four fumble recoveries and four sacks last year. He had 95 tackles (64 solo) and two interceptions during his junior season.

The analysis of Horton on NFL.com calls him an "aggressive tackler who puts good power behind his hits" and said he "makes the calls in the secondary and plays with good awareness, reacting quickly."

McNeese State defensive end Bryan Smith was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round with the 80th pick. Smith is a two-time All-American and Southland Conference Player of the Year. He also received honors from the American Football Coaches Association, The Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation and the Sports Network.

Smith, 6-2, 228, had 22.5 tackles for losses and 10.5 sacks last year. He also owns school game, season and career sack records. He was the only Southland Conference player from Louisiana invited to the Hula Bowl. "I didn't really have a time frame," Smith said. "I was just watching it, and every time a pick came up I thought, 'Maybe this is the team,' but the phone hadn't rung yet. I just knew it was going to be some time today."

Smith said the Eagles plan to keep him at defensive end even though his size projects him more for linebacker. He said the only time he played linebacker was in the Hula Bowl.

Auburn cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, who played at Ouachita in Monroe, was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round with the 129th selection.

Wilhite, 5-10, 185, had 30 tackles and two interceptions for Auburn last season. He has a chance to get some playing time in a Patriots secondary that was hit with free-agent losses.

Nicholls State's Kareem Moore, a 5-11, 213-pound cornerback, was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round with the 180th pick. He was chosen the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year after totaling 73 tackles, including 46 solo, 4.5 tackles for losses and two interceptions last year.

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants selected Southern Mississippi's Robert Henderson, who played at Ponchatoula, in the sixth round with the 199th pick.

Henderson, 6-3, 283, had 64 tackles, including 41 solo, 10 tackles for losses and four sacks last year.

Northwestern State offensive tackle Demetrius Bell, the son of NBA great Karl Malone, was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round with the 219th pick.

Bell finished his career with 22 consecutive starts and was an All-American. He had 49 knockdown blocks and graded 80 percent or better in four games.

[www.nola.com]