Tag Archives: NFL Draft

Tommy Castellanos Declares for the NFL Draft

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Thomas (Tommy) Castellanos is ready for the big leagues…

The 22-year-old Afro-Cuban American college football quarterback for Florida State University has declared for the National Football League (NFL) draft after dropping his appeal for another year of college eligibility.

Tommy Castellanos

Castellanos thanked family, friends, coaches and teammates and “everyone who has supported me along this journey” in a statement posted on social media.

Just Win Management Group, which represented Castellanos during his legal fight, said it supported his decision.

“While the unique facts and circumstances surrounding the petition for an additional year of eligibility did create a path of viability, after careful review and consideration, we fully support Mr. Castellanos’ decision to forego that continued pursuit and focus his attention on preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft,” the agency said in a statement.

The NCAA initially denied Castellanos’ waiver request for a fifth season.

Castellanos, who transferred to Florida State last December after one year at Central Florida and two at Boston College, argued that college football’s sanctioning body should grant him another season because he played in only five games with the Knights in 2022.

Castellanos played against Tulane in the American Athletic Conference title game after starter John Rhys Plumlee aggravated a hamstring injury. Backup Mikey Keene opted out of the game because he wanted to preserve a year of eligibility before entering the transfer portal.

It’s moot now, with the 5-foot-11 Castellanos turning his attention toward preparing for the draft.

Castellanos completed 58.3% of his passes for 2,760 yards this season, with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also led the Seminoles (5-7) with 557 yards rushing and nine scores.

Damien Martinez Selected as No. 223 Pick in Seventh Round of 2025 NFL Draft by Seattle Seahawks

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Damien Martinez is heading to the National Football League.

The Seattle Seahawks have the 21-year-old Miami Hurricanes running back as the No. 223 pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Damien Martinez Martinez was a three-year starter, having played two years at Oregon State before transferring to the University of Miami.

While at Oregon State, he was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, was first-team All-Pac-12 and led the team with 982 rushing yards.

His second season at Oregon State was even better, rushing for 1,185 yards and named first-team All-Pac-12 for the second year in a row.

Martinez might be particularly familiar to Washington state football fans for his play against the University of Washington, having rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 84 receiving yards in two games against the Huskies in 2022 and 2023.

When he transferred to Miami, he saw similar production, leading the team in rushing yards (1,002), averaging 6.3 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns. He played in all 13 games last season, with 10 starts.

Elijah Arroyo Selected by Seattle Seahawks in Second Round as No. 50 Pick in 2025 NFL Draft

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There’s more football in Elijah Arroyo’s future…

The 22-year-old Mexican American University of Miami tight end was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the No. 50 pick, making him the first Latino selected by a National Football League team this year.

Elijah Arroyo“It feels unreal,” Arroyo said after being selected. “I’m still trying to take it all in. It’s a surreal feeling. I’m blessed.”

Arroyo, who is 6-foot-5, 254 pounds, averaged an impressive 16.9 yards per reception in his final season at Miami, catching 35 passes for 590 yards and seven touchdowns.

That 2024 performance helped Arroyo earn second-team All-ACC honors in a strong final season in which he started all 13 games after being limited to 11 games in his previous two seasons due to injury.

Arroyo was better known as a pass-catching tight end in college, but prides himself on being a versatile and well-rounded tight end.

“I lined up everywhere throughout my college career,” Arroyo said. “Really, everywhere on the field. I feel like that’s where I thrive, just being able to spread out and create mismatches.”

Arroyo later added, “I’m an elite competitor. You look on film, you know exactly what you’re going to get with me, that’s tremendous effort and just everything out of me in general. In the pass game, I can stretch the field; I’m basically like a receiver out there. I can run every route in the route tree, I understand how to get open, I understand zones. I feel like I’m a great overall tight end.”

As for his blocking, Arroyo said, “I did a decent amount. I really improved these past couple of years, and there’s still a lot more room for improvement as a far as my in-line blocking. Just learning how to help the offense any way I can.”

While Arroyo was born in Florida, he didn’t spend his entire childhood in the Sunshine State. Because of his father’s job selling timeshares, Arroyo and his family moved to Cancun, Mexico, when he was 7, staying for five years before moving to Frisco, Texas.

“I had just started playing football before I moved down there, so that was my biggest concern as a 7-year-old moving to a different country,” he said. “I asked my mom if they had a football team, and they said yes, they found me a football team. So I was cool with it.”

On playing football in Mexico, Arroyo said, “It was really the same other than being in a different language. You really learn that it’s still the same sport, it’s still football. There’s different ways to learn the game.”

NFL Rookie Isiah Pacheco Helps Lead Kansas City Chiefs to Super Bowl Win Over Philadelphia Eagles

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It’s an unforgettable end to an unbelievable NFL rookie season for Isiah Pacheco.

The 23-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American running back scored a touchdown to help lead the Kansas City Chiefs‘ to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.

Isiah PachecoPacheco, who was taken in the last round of the 2022 NFL Draft, can boast about something that few others can, being an NFL champion after the Chiefs’ 38-35 victory over the Eagles.

On Sunday, he excelled with a touchdown and ran for 76 yards, with 15 carries and an average of 5.1 in each one.

His season was impressive, as he rushed for 830 yards with five touchdowns and averaged 4.9 yards per carry in the regular season.

Those numbers were highlighted by Patrick Mahomes, the team’s star, who singled him out for praise.

“He’s so physically gifted, it’s hard for defenses to account for how physical he is,” Mahomes said after the Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And he proved that on Sunday, as the Eagles defense slowed him down on only a few occasions with hard hits, one in the fourth quarter, but he got up to stay in the game.

That commitment and dedication was rewarded for Pacheco, who keeps his feet on the ground and, as an NFL champion, knows that doing everything with effort and as a team is the best recommendation for all young players.

“Work, listen to your parents, put your best effort into everything you do,” he said when he was interviewed by ESPN during the celebrations.

“Coach always told us that teamwork is the most important thing.

“Today was an example that together we are all capable of achieving whatever we set out to do.”

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Matt Araiza Announces Plans to Enter 2022 NFL Draft

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Matt Araiza is entering the draft…

The 21-year-old Mexican American college football star, a punter for San Diego State and Ray Guy Award winner, has announced that he’ll be entering the 2022 NFL Draft after putting together one of the best punting seasons in college football history.

Matt Araiza“These past four years have been a blessing,” Araiza wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to my family and friends for all the years of support. With gratitude, I am announcing my decision to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.”

Araiza, who had one year left of eligibility, set the record for punting average in a season with 51.19 yards per punt. He holds the NCAA record of punts of 50 yards or more with 39 and the record for punts of 60 yards or more with 18. He also had two punts of 80 yards or more this season, including an 86-yarder.

Matt AraizaAraiza is a former soccer player-turned kicker from San Diego who made the switch to football early in high school.

“When I made that transition, from soccer to football, it was because I wanted to be in the NFL,” Araiza told ESPN in November.

He said that he studies NFL kickers and models some of his approach after Jake Bailey, who currently kicks for the New England Patriots and has a similar background and body type to Araiza.

 

Araiza also was selected as a first-team All-American, which triggered bonuses for coach Brady Hoke and offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski.

Alijah Vera-Tucker Selected by New York Jets in First Round of 2021 NFL Draft

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Alijah Vera-Tucker is officially headed to the National Football League…

The 21-year-old part-Latino offensive lineman is the No. 14 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Alijah Vera-Tucker

Vera-Tucker was selected by the New York Jets in the First Round, the first Latino football player picked this year.

Vera-Tucker played tackle and guard at the University of Southern California (USC) for two seasons and was one of the best offensive linemen in the country.

He won the Morris Trophy in 2020 for being the nation’s best offensive lineman. Tucker was also a First-Team All-Pac 12 selection in 2020 and Second-Team All-Pac 12 in 2019.

Tucker secures the left side of the Jets’ offensive line, with Mekhi Becton anchoring down the left tackle position. This pick gives Zach Wilson, the Jets’ top pick, some much-needed protection.

 

Aguayo Drafted in the Second Round of the NFL Draft

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Roberto Aguayo is headed to the National Football League…

The 21-year-old Latino kicker, who played for Florida State, was picked in the second round of the NFL draft.

Roberto Aguayo

Aguayo, the 59th pick overall, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the highest-drafted kicker since Mike Nugent in 2005.

The NFL’s lengthened extra point has put new emphasis on the play, now effectively a 33-yard attempt. Aguayo was perfect on his 198 PATs in college. More pertinent, the 2013 Lou Groza Award winner was 69-for-78 (88.5%) on field-goal tries and didn’t miss on any of his 49 attempts inside 40 yards.

Aguayo, quarterback Jameis Winston‘s teammate at FSU, expressed a desire to play for the Bucs and seems likely to hold the job for years to come.

But Aguayo wasn’t the only Latino footballer picked during this year’s NFL draft…

Blake Martinez is headed to the Green Bay Packers…

The Packers selected the Latino inside from Stanford with the 131st pick, which arrived late in the fourth round, and contained a bit of a premonition from his mother, Carrisa Martinez.

“The funny part of it was, (my mom) was always telling me throughout the process, she was like, ‘I believe you’re going to end up at the Packers,'” Martinez said on a conference call. “And obviously it was just a lucky guess type of thing, but it’s just funny. My mom said right after, ‘Moms are always right.’ And I’ll take it.”

When his moment arrived, Martinez donned a green Packers hat and matching gray T-shirt, and immediately posted a family photo on social media. His father, Marc, had bought the gear in a pre-draft shopping spree that accumulated gear from all 32 teams — just in case.

Martinez, who stands 6 feet 1 1/2 inches and weighs 240 pounds, earned All-American honors in 2015 and was also named first-team all-Pac-12.

He recorded a team-high 141 tackles last season, and his 10.1 tackles per game led the conference.

The Packers, according to director of football operations Eliot Wolf, were enamored of Martinez’s all-around game. He flashed the ability to blitz, evidenced by 13 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks over the last two years. He expressed confidence in his ability to cover, and Martinez said he served as the main coverage linebacker in nickel and dime packages last season. His 40-yard dash time of 4.67 seconds is far from blazing, but Wolf said the Packers have no qualms about his mobility or range.

“I felt like this last year I improved tremendously on that,” Martinez said. “I feel 100% confident to go out there and cover whoever I need to cover.”

Oklahoma’s Zack Sanchez was picked in Round 5 by the Carolina Panthers.

The 21-year-old Latino cornerback, picked 141st overall, is a ball-hawk who intercepted 13 passes over the past two seasons. His seven picks in 2015 tied for fifth nationally. Sanchez was not afraid to gamble, and sometimes paid for his mistakes. During his career at Oklahoma, he also recorded 134 tackles and three touchdowns.

“He’s instinctive. I think when you get into the fourth or fifth rounds, and find a cornerback with some instincts, this is a great pick,” said NFL Network’s Mike Mayock.

Thomas Duarte is switching coasts…

The 21-year-old half-Mexican American receiver, who played for UCLA, was picked in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins.

The 231st pick overall, the 6-foot-2, 231-pound Duarte was drafted as a tight end.

Duarte turned pro with a season of eligibility remaining. He ranked second on the Bruins last season with 53 receptions for 872 yards and a team-best 10 touchdown receptions.