Jordan Kent, Dante Rosario and Matt Toeaina were all chosen during the second day of the NFL Draft Sunday in New York City, with Rosario the first University of Oregon player to go off the board with the 18^th pick in the fifth round by the Carolina Panthers.

Rosario was followed by defensive lineman Matt Toeaina with the 13^th selection in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals, followed shortly by wide receiver Jordan Kent as the 36^th choice in the same round by Seattle.

“I’m happy with it,” Rosario said. “I went into (the draft) optimistically and just wanted to get picked, I wasn’t really concerned with where I went, I just wanted to have the opportunity to play. So when Carolina pulled the trigger in the fifth round, it was very surreal, I couldn’t believe it was happening.

“From what they said, I will be a moving tight end, a lot of things similar to what I’ve been doing the past couple of years at Oregon – as far a playing in the slot, playing in the backfield, playing on the line of scrimmage and a lot of downfield routes.”

The former Oregon state 2A high school player of the year from Dayton completed his collegiate career with 94 receptions for 1,003 yards and 11 touchdowns, including 42 catches for 426 yards and one score his senior year, after spending his first two seasons with the Ducks at fullback. He was converted to tight end/H-back prior to junior year to help utilize his talents in the school’s new spread offense.

Toeaina was Oregon’s top tackler among its defensive linemen in 2006, accumulating 36 tackles, to push his career totals to 86 stops.

But perhaps no story was as compelling as Kent, as the Ducks’ basketball and track standout did not play organized football until his junior year in college. After pulling down three catches for 114 yards and one touchdown his first year, he finished as Oregon’s second-leading receiver a year ago. His 44 receptions for 491 yards included four scores. Kent finished with 113 receiving yards at California and 102 at Oregon State.

“This has definitely been worth (devoting last season to football),” Kent said. “It’s just a huge relief to be drafted but at the same time, you’re really thankful to be put in such a great position being close to home and going to a great franchise. (The Seahawks) have kind of been my No. 1 pick since hearing about all the teams being interested. I’m definitely excited but at the same time, I know I still have a lot more work to do. This isn’t the finish line by any means so I’m definitely ready to work even harder because I’ve got my foot in the door and now I just have to capitalize on the opportunity.”