Sacramento Mountain Lions Draft Nine Players

Published on May 2, 2011 under United Football League (UFL 1)
Sacramento Mountain Lions News Release


SACRAMENTO, CA - Monday, May 2, 2011 - The Sacramento Mountain Lions drafted nine players in Monday evening's UFL Draft.

Each selection of the UFL Draft was announced on social media first as the respective coaches announced their picks on twitter.com. The picks were also announced on each team's facebook.com page and at www.UFL-Football.com.

The Mountain Lions had the third pick in the first round and they chose Fresno State quarterback RYAN COLBURN. Colburn had his best collegiate season in 2010, throwing for 2,817 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 63.1 percent of his passes last fall. He also ran for three touchdowns.

"Ryan Colburn was the leader of one of the most explosive passing style offenses in college football," Mountain Lions head coach and general manager DENNIS GREEN said. "His ability to get the ball into the end zone was a key element of his success. Ryan was also Academic All-WAC. We like the idea that we were able to get a player who has performed so well in our area of Northern California."

The other first-round selections were JERROD JOHNSON (first by Hartford, Texas A&M, quarterback), REYNALDO HILL (second by Omaha, University of Florida, cornerback), MARTAIL BURNETT (fourth by Virginia, University of Utah, defensive end) and JOEL BELL (fifth by Las Vegas, Furman University, offensive tackle).

The Mountain Lions picked UGO CHINASA (second round, Oklahoma State, defensive end), DERRICK ROBERSON (third round, Rutgers University, cornerback), ROBERTO DAVIS (fourth round, Northwest Missouri State, defensive end), SPENCER PAYSINGER (fifth round, University of Oregon, linebacker), JAMEL HAMLER (sixth round, Fresno State, receiver), KAINOA LACOUNT (seventh round, University of Hawaii, offensive tackle), JOSH GATLIN (ninth round, North Dakota State, cornerback) and KEANEMANA SILVA (10th round, University of Hawaii, safety).

Sacramento Mountain Lions draft choices:

#3 OVERALL - QB RYAN COLBURN, FRESNO STATE

Colburn, a rookie, comes into the professional ranks off his best collegiate season in 2010. Last fall, he threw for 2,817 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 63.1 percent of his passes. Colburn also ran for three touchdowns in 2010. In 2009, he passed for 2,459 yards and 19 touchdowns, and ran for 171 yards and two more scores.

#8 OVERALL - DE UGO CHINASA, OKLAHOMA STATE

A rookie, Chinasa played in all 13 games for the Cowboys in 2010, and made 38 total tackles. His senior-season totals included four sacks, six tackles for loss, an interception, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Chinasa played in 47 games during his OSU career.

#13 OVERALL - CB DERRICK ROBERSON, RUTGERS

Roberson was an undrafted free agent following the 2007 NFL Draft, and has seen action in eight regular-season games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009) and Cleveland Browns (2010). In 2009, he had three total tackles and two pass breakups.

#18 OVERALL - DE ROBERTO DAVIS, NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

A rookie, Davis will make his professional debut after racking up 52 total tackles and 10 1/2 tackles for loss in 2010 at Northwest Missouri State. He also had seven sacks, three forced fumbles and three passes defensed. In 2009, Davis had seven sacks, 32 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.

#24 OVERALL - LB SPENCER PAYSINGER, OREGON

A rookie, Paysinger is starting his professional football career following a 2010 senior season in which he was an honorable mention all-Pac 10 performer. As a senior, he recorded 76 total tackles, three sacks, 6 1/2 tackles for loss and six passes defensed. In 52 total games as a Duck, Paysinger had 256 total tackles, 26 1/2 tackles for loss, 6 1/2 sacks and 21 pass breakups.

#29 OVERALL - WR JAMEL HAMLER, FRESNO STATE

A rookie, Hamler is coming off a productive junior season for the Bulldogs in 2010. He grabbed 54 passes for 812 yards and six touchdowns, and his top game was an 8-catch, 118-yard, 3-touchdown performance against Louisiana Tech. In 2009, Hamler caught 37 passes for 503 yards and five touchdowns.

#34 OVERALL - OT KAINOA LaCOUNT, HAWAII

A rookie, LaCount goes from the islands to the West Coast of the mainland to begin his professional football career. He played in all 14 games in 2010, starting four, and played as a backup in two games in 2009 as a junior. LaCount played two seasons at College of the Canyons.

#44 OVERALL - CB JOSH GATLIN, NORTH DAKOTA STATE

A rookie, Gatlin, a relation of Olympic sprinter Justin Gatlin, comes into professional football after a team-high five interceptions as a senior in 2010. He was limited to seven games as a junior in 2009 due to several nagging injuries, and played in 2007 and 2008 at North Dakota State College of Science.

#49 OVERALL - S KEANEMANA SILVA, HAWAII

Silva, a rookie, takes 38 collegiate games at Hawaii with him into professional football. In 2010, he had eight interceptions, 85 total tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss, and in 2009, Silva recorded six interceptions, 74 total tackles and two tackles for loss.

Players selected in the draft shall remain on each team's Reserved Unsigned List until formally added to the roster by virtue of a negotiated contract. Each UFL team already had an opportunity to protect a maximum of 40 players from 2010 rosters and last week added 10 more free agents by submitting a Reserved Unsigned list.

A period of free agency begins now, allowing teams to bring rosters up to a maximum of 70 players heading into training camp.

The Mountain Lions went 4-4 in 2010, averaging about 18,250 fans per game at Hornet Stadium.

The UFL season will begin in August but the schedule has not been released yet. Ticket information will be available soon at www.sacmountainlions.com. Fans can also visit www.buyUFL.com for merchandise.

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