LAS VEGAS – A quartet of Conference USA standouts were selected on the final day of the 2022 NFL Draft on Saturday in Las Vegas. UTSA OL Spencer Burford was the first C-USA player off the board on Saturday, as the San Francisco 49ers chose him in the fourth round with the 134th overall pick. Just three spots later, C-USA’s Most Valuable Player in 2021, WKU QB Bailey Zappe was selected by the New England Patriots with pick No. 137, also in the fourth round. Burford’s teammate at UTSA, CB Tariq Woolen was then taken in the fifth round with the 153rd overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks. Marshall DB Nazeeh Johnson was also selected in the seventh round with the 259th pick by the Kansas City Chiefs to bring the C-USA total of 2022 NFL draftees to six over the three-day event.
An honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele and a first-team All-Conference USA pick in 2021, Burford started 12 games on the line — 11 at left tackle — to help lead UTSA to a 12-2 record, the program’s first Conference USA title, a national ranking as high as No. 15 and to its second straight and third overall bowl game last fall. The Dave Campbell’s Texas Football All-Texas College First Team selection helped pave the way for an offense that set school records for total yards (6,146), total yards per game (439.0), passing yards (3,577), passing yards per game (255.5), points scored (516) and points per game (36.9). Burford allowed only two sacks and one hit on the quarterback in 420 pass-blocking snaps according to Pro Football Focus.
Burford played in 45 career games and drew 43 starts in his four-year career with the Roadrunners. He earned second-team all-league accolades as a junior and was an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2019. He was a key member of an offensive line that helped open holes for UTSA career rushing leader Sincere McCormick, who registered back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and finished with 3,929 rushing yards, 34 rushing touchdowns and 18 100-yard games.
Zappe rewrote the record books in his lone season at WKU with the Hilltoppers, breaking the NCAA single-season records for passing yards (5,967 yards) and passing touchdowns (62). He led the nation in passing yards by 1,095 and touchdowns by 15.
He was named the Conference USA Football Most Valuable Player while helping the Hilltoppers to a C-USA East Division title and a convincing win in the Boca Raton Bowl, where he was named MVP.
The NCAA passing record Zappe broke had stood since 2003, while he also broke the touchdown record set by Joe Burrow in his prolific 2019 season at LSU.
Zappe also won the 2021 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and he was named a finalist for the Manning Award, as well as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards.
Zappe is just the sixth quarterback in FBS history to achieve a season with at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns.
Woolen played in 41 career games over four seasons for the Roadrunners, including full-time on defense during the last two campaigns after converting from wide receiver. Woolen emerged as one of the top cornerbacks in the league, tallying 60 total tackles, 38 solo stops, five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups and a pair of interceptions combined over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, helping UTSA to 19 wins and back-to-back bowl games.
An honorable mention All-Conference USA performer last fall, Woolen started all nine games in which he was available to help lead the Roadrunners to a 12-2 record and the program’s first Conference USA Championship. The Fort Worth Arlington Heights High product posted 25 total tackles, 17 unassisted stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, one interception and a quarterback hurry in his final campaign in 2021. Measuring 6-4 and 205 pounds, he helped lead a defense that forced 25 turnovers, good for 10th among all FBS teams, and yielded only 114.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 14th nationally.
Woolen produced 35 stops, including 20 solos, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, to go along with an interception and five pass breakups as a junior in 2020, his first full season playing defense. He appeared in 11 contests and made seven starts at corner for a unit that led C-USA in interceptions (11), takeaways (19) and turnover margin (+7), ranking 19th nationally in turnovers gained and 23rd in the country in interceptions.
Johnson, an honorable mention All-Conference selection by the league’s 14 head coaches in 2021, finished his final season in Huntington, West Virginia, for the Thundering Herd with 67 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a pair of interceptions, five pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
Throughout his career at Marshall, Johnson totaled 270 tackles (including a career-high 88 in 2019) and six interceptions to go along with 18 pass breakups.
The six selections in 2022 bring C-USA’s total number of draftees to 56 since 2016. WKU and UTSA led the way with two picks each this year, while UAB and Marshall also had players chosen.
Conference USA 2022 NFL Draft Picks
Round 3, Pick 78 – DE Alex Wright, UAB – Cleveland Browns
Round 3, Pick 82 – EDGE DeAngelo Malone, WKU – Atlanta Falcons
Round 4, Pick 134 – OL Spencer Burford, UTSA – San Francisco 49ers
Round 4, Pick 137 – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU – New England Patriots
Round 5, Pick 153 – CB Tariq Woolen, UTSA – Seattle Seahawks
Round 7, Pick 259 – S Nazeeh Johnson, Marshall – Kansas City Chiefs
-ConferenceUSA.com-
