Sports News Southwest

San Diego, California - Cornerback Antoine Cason from the University of Arizona, a second generation NFL defensive back and the winner of the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, heads the Chargers’ NFL Draft Class of 2008. He was selected in the first round with the 27th overall choice.

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Cason, 6-0, 190, is both an outstanding cornerback and special teams player. As a senior at Arizona, he picked off five passes and he returned two punts for touchdowns. Cason finished his career at Arizona with 15 picks, fourth-most in school history, while setting a campus record with 349 interception return yards. Cason was a four-year starter for the Wildcats, never missing a start in 46 career games. His father, Wendell Cason, was also a Pac-10 defensive back, spending the 1981-84 seasons at the University of Oregon before playing three seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons (1985-87). Two of Cason’s cousins have NFL experience. Cousin, Ken-yon Rambo, played for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, and cousin, Aveion Cason played with the St. Louis Rams, the Cowboys, and is now playing for the Detroit Lions.

The Chargers opened Day 2 of the draft by trading up into the third round to acquire running back Jacob Hester from LSU. The Chargers swapped picks with the New England Patriots, sending a fifth-round choice (160th overall) in this year’s draft and the Bolts’ second-round pick in 2009 to pick up the former Tiger. Hester, 5-11, 230, was a dual-threat as both a running back and fullback at LSU where he helped lead the Tigers to the 2007 BCS National Championship in his final collegiate game. As a senior, Hester rushed for 1,103 yards and 12 touchdowns. An adept receiver, he also caught 14 passes as a senior for 106 yards and another score. A starter for his final two seasons at LSU, Hester finished his career with 20 touchdowns on the ground. He’s a sure-handed ball-carrier; he fumbled only once during his collegiate career while rushing for 1,780 yards on 364 carries and averaging nearly five yards per carry in the very tough SEC.

In the fifth round, the Chargers added another big and powerful running back, landing Marcus Thomas from the University of Texas-El Paso. Standing 6-1, 215, Thomas finished his career as the Miners’ fifth all-time leading rusher (2,615 yards) and third-leading scorer (26 rushing touchdowns). As a senior, Thomas rushed for 1,166 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging over five yards per carry (5.1) and he became only the fourth player in school history to score more than 100 points in a season. Thomas was the 166th overall selection in the draft.

The selections of Hester and Thomas will help the Chargers fill the void left by Michael Turner, who signed with Atlanta in March as an unrestricted free agent.

In the sixth round with the 192nd choice San Diego added another ball-hawking cornerback in DeJuan Tribble, a two-time All-ACC pick from Boston College. A speedster at 5-9 and 190 pounds, Tribble tied a school record with three interception returns for touchdowns while his 15 career picks were the third-most in Eagles’ history. A Boston College player hadn’t returned three picks for touchdowns in a career since the early 1960s. Twice Tribble had three interceptions in a game, performing the feat against Miami, Fla as a junior and against Wake Forest as a senior.

Cason, the Chargers’ first-round pick, and Tribble, their sixth-rounder, combined to pick off 30 passes as collegians while playing in two of the NCAA’s top conferences: the Pac-10 and the ACC.

The Chargers made their final selection in the 2008 NFL Draft in the seventh round, selecting offensive tackle Corey Clark from Texas A&M with the 234th overall selection. Clark, 6-6, 330, was a three-year starter for the Aggies and an honorable mention All-Big 12 choice in 2007.

The Chargers benefited in their run to the AFC Championship Game in 2007 by sending this year’s second round pick to Miami in 2007 in exchange for wide receiver Chris Chambers. He joined the Chargers in October and led the team in average yards per catch during both the regular season and the playoffs. The Chargers also traded their original third round choice in this year’s draft to Chicago in 2007 so that they could select safety Eric Weddle. Weddle ended up playing in 15 games during the regular season and all three playoff games, gaining valuable experience as a key contributor on both defense and special teams, including a key interception in the Chargers’ AFC Divisional Playoff win at Indianapolis. The Chargers exercised their 2008 fourth round choice last summer by selecting defensive back Paul Oliver in the 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft

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