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Massey Selected in 7th Round By Rams;
Yates, Kellett Ink Free Agent Deals
Massey Selected in 7th Round By Rams; 4/22/2002
There was virtually nothing anyone could do Sunday afternoon to knock the smile off the face of Marshall's Chris Massey.
The smile came as a result of his being selected in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the defending NFC Champion St. Louis Rams.
“Words can’t explain it," Massey said. "It’s a dream come true for me. I’m anxious to play for the best team in the NFL right now.”
Massey, who served as the Herd's long-snapper for the past four years, was thought to be a long-shot to be selected in the draft despite his perfect collegiate record as a snapper.
"I wasn’t getting my hopes up and mainly looking for a free agent deal," Massey said. "If that opportunity came I made my mind up that I was going to sign with the Rams.”
After the draft ended on Sunday, Herd linebacker Max Yates was signed to a free agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings. He rejoins with former Marshall players Randy Moss, Doug Chapman and Andre O'Neal in Minneapolis.
In addition, tight end Gregg Kellett signed a free agent deal with the Indianapolis Colts late Sunday.
Massey lettered four years at Marshall and recorded more than 500 snaps on punts, field goals and PAT kicks without a single bad snap. He was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
His road to the NFL was not like a lot of other players taken in the two-day draft.
"I walked on in ’97 as a linebacker where I spent a year," Massey said. "I figured I wasn’t going to play much there so I went over to snap, won the job and I’ve been doing it ever since. It paid my way through school.”
Massey plans to be in St. Louis by the end of the week to participate in a rookie camp. Rams head coach Mike Martz said the team has big plans for Massey.
"The reason you draft a long snapper is that you expect him to come in and start for you, and we’ve got, what we call a ‘red tag’ on him, which means he’s very high quality," Martz said. "He’s at that level that we feel confident that he can come in and do those things. His location of the ball and the ball speed is just what we’re looking for, that’s why we drafted him.”
Two other former Herd players, linebacker Max Yates and tight end Gregg Kellett, did not have their names called during the draft, but both are expected to sign free agent deals very soon.
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