Broward, Miami-Dade Football Players Shine In NFL Draft
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft proved to be an exciting one for high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade with a total of five draft picks coming from high schools there.
This comes to no surprise to Joe Rose from WQAM and host of the Joe Rose Show.
"Our high school football is second to none in Dade and Broward." He said. "It's huge both public and private and you're always reminded of that on draft day."
That reminder came quickly in the first round of the Nick Bosa who attended St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale who was selected second overall by the 49ers.
He along with Devin Bush from Pembroke Pines and Hollywood's Marquis Brown were 2 other first round picks from Broward County.
The draftees are often seen celebrating with family and friends but they are not the only ones. "There's no question there are some coaches going to school the next day feeling pretty good," added Rose.
One of those coaches is Patrick Surtain at American Heritage School in Plantation. He coached Brian Burns who was the sixteenth pick by the Carolina Panthers. "It's nice to see a guy like that get to that level because he did it the right way," said Coach Surtain from the field where Burns practiced and played for years.
Mike Smith, who is the head strength and conditioning coach at American Heritage School, said this when asked what it means to incoming players to have past players being drafted into the NFL. "It's motivation. It shows it is possible if they put in the work and the time that could be me one day."
Deandre Baker from Miami Northwestern High School in Miami-Dade County was drafted by the New York Giants.
Although not his coach in High school, Max Edwards made the draft a must-watch assignment for his current players.
"So, they could see that the pride of Miami Northwestern that the field they practice on is hallowed ground," he said.
"I felt proud for him, for our community, and the kids that had the opportunity to see it happen."
Kids and players who are waking up Friday are seeing that five new athletes from Miami-Dade and Broward are new players in the NFL for the 2019 season, and that is just after the first round.
