Russell leads parade for former Red Zone honorees into NFL

After an injury-plagued first two seasons at Louisiana State, JaMarcus Russell was finally able to show Tigers' fans what he can do. And what a show it was.

Russell (Class of 2002) parlayed a junior season in which he threw for nearly 2,800 yards and 26 touchdowns into being the top player selected in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.

Russell is the second former Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year to be drafted in the first round, after Shawne Merriman in 2005.

"I kind of had faith in it. Everybody had been talking about it for a while," Russell told The Associated Press on being chosen first. "It's a dream come true. Growing up as a kid playing every sport in life and always seeing the guys on the professional level, and here I am today. I can't wait to get in the black and silver and get to work.'

Russell is also the first pick of new Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, who was excited about his new quarterback.

"This whole building is just ecstatic about this pick," Kiffin said. "To get JaMarcus is just a dream come true."

Other Old Spice Red Zone alumni to get drafted:

• Notre Dame offensive lineman Ryan Harris (Class of 2002), was taken by Denver in the third round with the 70 th overall pick.

• Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker (Class of 2001) went to Miami in the third round with the 71 st overall selection. Booker had more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 2006 and ran for more than 2,300 yards in his four years with the Seminoles.

• Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman (Class of 2002) was drafted by New Orleans with the eighth pick in the fourth round, the 107 th overall pick. Pittman ran for 1,272 yards and 14 TD this past season as a junior, and ran for nearly 3,000 yards for the Buckeyes.

• Tarell Brown (Class of 2002), a cornerback out of Texas, was taken by San Francisco with the 10 th pick in Round 5, the 147 th overall pick. Brown had 150 total tackles with the Longhorns in his career, 53 coming in 2006, where he also broke up eight passes.

• Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades (Class of 2002) was the fifth pick in Round 6 (179 th overall) by Washington. Blades had 147 total tackles this past year, while also intercepting two passes and recovering two fumbles. He had more than 400 total tackles and six recovered fumbles in his career at Pitt.

• Central Michigan center Drew Mormino was picked 199 th overall – 25 th in round six – by Miami.

These players join Merriman and Tampa Bay receiver Maurice Stovall as former winners in the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year program who are now in the NFL.