Patriots Interested in BYU’s Unga

By Matthew Marcantonio in College, Featured, Patriots ⋅ June 26, 2010 at 6:58pm ⋅ Post a comment

The Supplemental Draft on July 15 is a second chance for many NFL college prospects. The type of players that enter the Supplementary draft are guys who either got dismissed from University or have gotten into trouble in the past and have no other choice but to enter the Supplementary draft.

For Brigham Young University RB Harvey Unga, the scenario is slightly different than the norm.

On April 18, Unga voluntarily withdrew from school because of a violation to BYU’s honor code. According to the BYU undergraduate catalog, consuming alcohol, coffee or tea is a violation. However, Sporting News says that Unga’s violation was that of premarital sex with his girlfriend, who also withdrew.

Unga gained 3,455 yards (five yards per carry) and scored 36 touchdowns for the Cougars. At 6-0, 240 pounds Unga is a big bruising back that also has reliable hands out of the backfield.

On July 8, the New England Patriots will be one of the many teams in attendance for Unga’s pro-day in Provo, Ut. Unga currently holds around a fourth or fifth round value, meaning that an NFL team would give up that type of compensation for Unga in the 2011 NFL Draft.

It’s no secret that Patriots coach Bill Belichick values stock-piling draft picks and he did just that for the 2011 draft. With that being the case, the Patriots have the compensation to gamble a fourth round pick for Unga’s services.

Over the last couple of seasons after the departure of Corey Dillon, the Patriots have been in search for a consistent running game. 2006 first round pick Laurence Maroney has yet to show that he can be anything more than a spell back in the NFL — an inconsistent one at that. Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris have struggled staying healthy in their careers and at this point they cannot be count on to contribute week in and week out. And Kevin Faulk, the most consistent of the RB’s on the roster, isn’t much of a threat on the ground.

With Wes Welker most likely missing some time earlier in 2010, the Patriots will have to rely on a running game to take the pressure of guys like Brandon Tate, Taylor Price and Julian Edelman. Unga is a bulldozing-type runner that the Patriots lack.

The past, however says that Belichick and the Patriots won’t use a future draft choice for Unga. The Patriots as an organization has only drafted two players in the Supplementary draft since the draft began 1977. But although the chances aren’t particularly high, Unga is an intriguing prospect that, unlike many of other Supplemental draft prospects, has a chance to contribute in the NFL.

About Matthew Marcantonio - My Twitter

Matthew Marcantonio is the Patriots and college football editor at Sports of Boston. Marcantonio has contributed for two newspapers; the Sentinel & Enterprise (Leominster, Mass) and The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La) and held internships with The Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated.

Tags: Harvey Unga, Patriots