Two Beavers Drafted; Three Sign Free Agent Contracts
UPDATE 7:50 p.m.
Former Oregon State offensive guard and linebacker were selected in the NFL Draft Sunday. Schuening was a fifth round pick by the St. Louis Rams and LaRocque was a seventh round selection of the Chicago Bears..
Schuening, a native of Pendleton, Ore., started a school record 50 games and helped the Beavers win three bowl games in as many tries as an active player. Following the 2007 season, he was named Pac-10 Conference FirstTeam and to the Pro Football Weekly All-America squad. He also played in the 2008 Senior Bowl.
Schuening is the third offensive linemen in the last four years from Oregon State to be drafted, joining last season (6th round/Giants) and Doug Nienhuis in 2005 (7th round/Seattle). His fifth round selection is the highest for a Beaver offensive linemen since Alai Kalaniuvalu was the third round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1994.
LaRocque, an outside linebacker, made 184 career tackles in his two-year Beaver career. In 2006 he led OSU with 98 stops. The Agoura, Calif., native was a 2007 Pac-10 Second Team selection. He transferred to Oregon State following the 2005 season from the College of the Canyons, where he was a JC All-American.
Schuening joins fellow Beaver and NFL All-Pro running back Steven Jackson in St. Louis. Jackson was a first round selection of the Rams in the 2004 draft. Schuening was a redshirt in Jackson’s final year in Corvallis.
LaRocque joins former Beaver and record-setting wide receiver Mike Hass in Chicago. Hass, for the most part, has been on the Bears’ practice squad the last two seasons after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints.
For the third consecutive year, two Beavers were selected in the NFL Draft.
UPDATE -- Former center and defensive end have signed free agent contracts with the Washington Redskins. DeVan started 38 games at center and was a 2006 Pac-10 Second Team honoree and honorable mention in 2005 and 2007. Smith was a Pac-10 First team honoree last season and ended his two year career (transferred from the College of the Desert) with 15 sacks, sixth all-time at OSU.
Running Back signed a free agent contract late Sunday to join Schuening with the Rams. Bernard finished his career with 3,862 yards, sixth all-time in the Pac-10 record book. He was the 2007 Emerald Bowl Offensive MVP after a 177-yard rushing performance. Bernard is the seventh player in conference history with three 1,000-yard plus rushing seasons.
Make sure you get to Saturday’s Spring Game early for the annual autograph session on the field. For all the details about this year’s game follow this .
