Smith, Austin, Bailey
Geno Smith and Tavon Austin could make West Virginia history Thursday night by marking the first time two former Mountaineers are taken in the first round of the NFL draft.
There has been a ton of speculation out there from credible sources that points to that being a likely scenario.
Check out CBS Sports Jason LaCanfora’s piece from April 3 that has Smith a lock for top-5.
Here is another from April 23 with Smith and Austin projected high.
The draft begins at 8 p.m. Thursday night on the NFL Network and if the two are picked in the first round, it will be a banner day for them both and the program.
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Caught up with Stedman Bailey this week, who was heading to New York today to meet up with Smith and Austin.
Bailey said he’s spent some time trying to navigate his own draft expectations, and has sought advice from others in his shoes.
Most analysts project Bailey to be a second or third round pick, and Bailey expects that is accurate. But exactly who?
“It’s actually hard to tell because I’ve gotten equal amount of attention from teams that are interested,” said Bailey. “I’ve reached out to people who’ve been through this process before and asked them ‘Did you end up going to that team?’ A lot of them told me they ended up going to a team they never had contact with. So it’s hard to guess. Anything can happen.”
What is clear? Bailey is excited about the next step: “I’m very excited about the future to start this new journey.”