SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference had two players drafted during Saturday's portion of the 2012 National Football League Draft. Samford's Corey White was chosen by New Orleans in the fifth round, while UTC quarterback B.J. Coleman was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round. With Appalachian State's Brian Quick being chosen during Friday's second round, the SoCon had three draftees which tied for the most among all FCS conferences.
White was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2012 National Football League Draft Saturday afternoon.
White, who was the 162nd overall pick in the Draft, becomes the fourth player in Samford history to be drafted, and the first since Cortland Finnegan was taken in the seventh round of the 2006 Draft by the Tennessee Titans. He is the highest draft pick in Samford history.
The other Samford players to be drafted were Gary Fleming in the seventh round of the 1969 Draft by the Baltimore Colts, and Rex Keeling, who was taken in the 16th round by the Houston Oilers in 1967.
White was the second Southern Conference player taken in this year's draft after Appalachian State's Brian Quick was taken in the second round by St. Louis Rams.
For his senior season in 2011, White tied for second in the Southern Conference in interceptions with four. He also ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 58, including 52 solo stops. White had three tackles for a loss and five pass break-ups.
In his Samford career, White tallied seven interceptions and 18 pass break-ups. He finished his career with 140 total tackles, including 118 solo stops.
Coleman, a three-year starter from 2009-11, is the 47th Moc selected in the NFL Draft in school history.
The Packers took Coleman with the 243rd overall pick, making him the second UTC player chosen in head coach Russ Huesman's tenure. Buster Skrine (2007-10) was a fifth round choice (137th) of the Cleveland Browns last year.
"I am ecstatic," said Coleman after spending the day watching the draft with friends and family at his parents' home in Chattanooga. "This has been a dream of mine since I started playing and for it to finally come true is unbelievable. It has been a lot of hard work, and I could not have done it without the support of my family, teammates and coaches."
Coleman is the third player in school history to go to Green Bay's storied franchise. The Packers also chose offensive lineman Jack Spears (28/328) in 1955 and defensive back Bill Butler (19/217) in 1959.
"I would also like to thank all of the Mocs fans for supporting me and our team over the last three seasons," added Coleman. "I look forward to representing our University at the highest level for years to come."
Despite only playing in 29 games in his three year career, Coleman made a tremendous impact on the Mocs since transferring from Tennessee in 2009. He is second all-time at UTC with 6,871 career passing yards and is just the fourth Moc to throw for 6,000 yards. He set a UTC record with 52 career TD passes and is one of just two Mocs in school history with six+ 300-yard passing games.
Coleman's arrival in Chattanooga, combined with Huesman taking over as head coach, resulted in back-to-back winning seasons in 2009 and 2010 for the first time since the 1990 and 1991 seasons. UTC's 17 wins in the Coleman era are the most in over a decade and the Mocs also experienced record home attendance since Coleman returned to play for his hometown team.
An Academic All-Southern Conference selection, Coleman was a regular on the Dean's List and the Athletics Director's Honor Roll during his time at UTC. He graduated in December with a degree in Communications