The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Sweed selected 53rd overall by Pittsburgh Steelers
04.26.2008 | Football
NEW YORK -- University of Texas WR Limas Sweed was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 22nd pick of the second round and the 53rd overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft on Saturday. Texas has now 18 players chosen in the first or second round of the draft in the Mack Brown era.
"It's something you wait for, and I'm happy now that it's come," Sweed said. "I'm just ready to get in and go to work. The Steelers are a great team, and when I got the call, the coaches were telling me how much tradition they have up there. You always know Mean Joe Greene, and they're always in the playoffs, plus Casey Hampton is there. To be drafted by such a traditional football team is something really similar to Texas. I know the fans will be behind them, so it'll be a good thing. They have a great quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, so I'm excited."
Sweed is the third Texas receiver to be chosen in the last five years, following Roy Williams, who was taken with the seventh overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2004 draft, and Sloan Thomas, who was a seventh round pick by the Houston Texans the same year.
"Limas was a difference maker for us," said head coach Mack Brown. "You look at what Roy Williams did here with the No. 4 jersey and a lot of people worried when Limas tried to wear the same one. But, represented that number well. Limas has left his mark in the record books and left a legacy at The University of Texas. He's got great speed and great hands. He competes so hard, and he also has the height to be a mismatch on cornerbacks. We think he can be a true star in the NFL."
He also becomes the third Longhorn chosen by the Steelers since 1997 and the second wide receiver, including WR Mike Adams (seventh round, 1997) and DT Casey Hampton (first round, 2001).
"This guy has a heck of resume," said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "It seems like he's been down at Texas six or eight years and made a bunch of plays for those guys, big-time plays. He's a big guy who plays big. We're excited about having him, and very similar to what we did in the first round, had he been injury free, we probably wouldn't be having the discussion (of if he might have slipped in the draft)."
A two-time All-Big 12 selection and a 2007 preseason Playboy All-American, Sweed started 39 consecutive games before his senior season was cut short with a wrist injury. For his career, he recorded 124 catches (No. 6 on UT's all-time list) for 1,915 yards (No. 5 on UT's all-time list) and 20 TDs (No. 2 on UT's all-time list) in 43 career games. He caught a pass in 24 consecutive games to finish his career and in 40 of 43 career games.
"Limas is very unselfish," Brown said. "He decided to stay for this fifth year, and he did graduate at the same time. He tried to play through an injury during the season. It would have been so easy for him to just sit out and say, "I'm going to wait and go to the combine and get ready for the NFL," but he tried his best to compete until about half the year was over, and he was just in so much pain, he couldn't do it. I'm really proud that he got it fixed after he tried to compete. He came back, and now he's ready to be a top player in the NFL."
Sweed started the first six games of 2007 before the injury and tallied 19 receptions for 306 yards (16.1 ypc) and three TDs. He started all 13 games in 2006 and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors, while leading the team with 46 catches for 801 yards (17.4 ypc) and 12 TDs (T-No. 1 on UT's single-season list). He was also a key piece of the 2005 National Championship team when he started all 13 games. He finished second on the team with 36 receptions for 545 yards and five TDs.
