Two Bills Drive

‘Sunday also saw three area players selected. North Carolina wideout Sam Aiken became the first area player chosen in the draft, going to Buffalo in the fourth round (127th overall). Ten picks later, Detroit picked N.C. State safety Terrence Holt in the fifth round. Another Wolfpack player, offensive tackle Scott Kooistra, went in the seventh round to Cincinnati (215th).’

‘Aiken had been talking to his grandmother when the call was disconnected. When the phone rang again, he thought it was her. “That phone call wasn’t her, it was the Buffalo Bills,” Aiken said. “I was very excited. It’s a dream come true.”‘

‘”I must have talked with about 10 guys that are with the Bills and they mentioned the cold weather,” Sobieski said. “I just told them, ‘Hey, I’m from Minnesota. I don’t really have to worry about it.”’

‘Johnson is headed to the Buffalo Bills after signing a free-agent deal late Sunday. “I’m the fourth quarterback on the roster now, so it looks like I’m going to get a decent shot,” said Johnson, who also fielded offers from a handful of other teams, including Miami, St. Louis and Tennessee.’

‘Give Buffalo thumbs-up for this pick. It’s not going to be that much of a gamble.’

‘McGahee has an insurance policy that will pay $2.5 million Jan. 3 if he plays in fewer than five games and decides his career is over.’

‘Know this. Few, if any, college players worked harder than Willis McGahee when he was healthy. None worked harder than when he was rehabbing.’

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‘"We think that we drafted some players that add to our depth and add to our competition at positions. Hopefully we’ll continue to find players that can make us better on special teams."’

‘Was it a good pick? It’s certainly a risky one, seeing that McGahee will be playing on artificial turf and in cold weather, something he didn’t do at Miami. This one is a gamble on greatness as McGahee was considered a Top 5 pick before his injury. McGahee will likely sit out the 2003 season after undergoing ACL knee surgery, so his impact probably won’t be seen until 2004.’

‘The Bills, who will hold a rookie minicamp next weekend, will complete stocking their roster with several undrafted free agents, which are expected to be announced on Monday.’

”’I didn’t want it to make it look like our phones weren’t ringing,” Rosenhaus said Sunday. ”Willis and I had a little chat to create the perception that we weren’t waiting for teams to call us.”’

Watching Terrence McGee set the NCAA Division I-AA career record for punt return average while starting four years in the Northwestern State secondary, Demons’ fans who have seen their share of future pro football stars felt McGee was destined for the NFL.

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McGee is in a group of cornerbacks whom The Sporting News said “have the skills to develop into a starting nickel slot cornerback on the NFL,” although not as good as highly rated first-round prospects Terence Newman of Kansas State, Marcus Trufant of Washington State and Andre Woolfolk of Oklahoma.