Vandy, UT, Memphis each have first-round selections

Jay Cutler made a bit of Vanderbilt history, Jason Allen ended Tennessee?s draft drought and DeAngelo Williams endured a long wait before rounding out the first round of the NFL draft Saturday with a bit of Tennessee trivia.

Tennessee?s top three college football programs had not had a player taken in the first round of the same NFL draft since 1984 until Saturday.

?I couldn?t ask for a better birthday present,? said Cutler, who celebrated his 23rd birthday by becoming the third quarterback taken in the draft after Vince Young of Texas (No. 3 by Tennessee) and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart of Southern California (No. 10 by Arizona).

Denver took Cutler at No. 11, Allen went to Miami with the 16th pick and Williams was the 27th selection by Carolina.

Cutler became the first Vandy quarterback drafted in the first round since Bill Wade in 1952. Not only was he a first-round pick, he went No. 11 overall when the Denver Broncos swapped their first- and third-round pick next year to St. Louis to move up from 15th to grab Cutler.

He had talked only briefly with the Broncos before the draft. But he was a four-year starter and finished his career as the Southeastern Conference player of the year in 2005, throwing for 3,073 yards and 21 touchdowns with only nine interceptions.

?I?m extremely excited. I?m happy to be part of the organization,? Cutler said.

?I didn?t really have any expectations. I thought the draft was going to be a little bit funny this year. There?s a lot of top talent near the top of the first round. I went in with an open mind, ready to go wherever. This is a perfect situation to come to Denver and learn there and go and compete and contribute to the team.?

The Vols hadn?t had a player taken in the first round since 2002 when John Henderson, Donte Stallworth and Albert Haynesworth all went within a handful of picks of each other. The Vols draft fortunes had lagged so much that only three were taken in 2005.

?Hopefully, next year we can have another one,? Allen said. ?Tennessee has been a little off lately, but Tennessee is going to be put back in a situation where it will have more first-rounders.?

Allen, who returned for his senior season and moved to cornerback, played his way into the first round despite dislocating his hip in a collision last October with Georgia tight end Leonard Pope. He moved up by running a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Williams wound up the third running back off the board despite leading the nation in rushing last year with 1,964 yards on 310 carries after breaking his right leg in the GMAC Bowl against Bowling Green in 2004. He led the nation in rushing touchdowns in 2004 with 22.

He is the NCAA?s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 7,573 yards and set an NCAA record with 34 100-yard rushing games.