As the fourth and fifth rounds of the NFL draft passed Saturday, University of Houston wide receiver Marquez Stevenson admittedly began to get anxious.
It was nothing compared to the wait for teammate Grant Stuard.
On the board longer than he expected, Stevenson was finally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round with the No. 203 overall pick.
With the No. 259 and final pick of the three-day draft, Stuard was selected by the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning him the title Mr. Irrelevant.
“The hardest this was not knowing when you were going to get the call, who was going to call,” Stevenson said. “To finally get that call was worth it.”
A playmaker with blazing speed as a receiver and in the return game, Stevenson overcame injuries his first two seasons to earn first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2018 and 2019. He finished in the top 20 in program history in receiving yards (2,269), receptions (147) and touchdown catches (22). He also had three kickoff returns for touchdowns.
In an abbreviated eight-game 2020 season due to the coronavirus outbreak, Stevenson had 20 catches for 307 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 36.3 yards with one touchdown on kickoffs despite missing two games with an ankle injury and opting out of the bowl game.
Stevenson’s path to a roster spot is likely as a return specialist and slot receiver. In Buffalo, Stevenson will get a chance to learn and work behind established receivers Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs.
“Being around them will allow me to better my game,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson will also be reunited with former UH teammate Ed Oliver, his college roommate who was drafted by the Bills in the first round in 2019. The two spoke on Wednesday, and Stevenson said to “end up in the same place is crazy.”
Stevenson has another connection to the Bills: as a young child he met cornerback Tre’Davious White, who also grew up in Shreveport, La., and followed his career at LSU and to the NFL.
“Tre’Davious White was a mentor for me when I was in high school,” Stevenson said. “So I’ve been following him and his accomplishments for a long time.”
Asked about his 4.48-second time at UH’s pro day, Stevenson said that was not indicative of the speed that has earned him the nickname “Speedy.” Stevenson said he was clocked in the 4.3 range throughout the draft process.
“I wasn’t satisfied,” Stevenson said. “I don’t like to make excuses, but it was windy that day. That wasn’t the definition of my speed.”
Stuard, a tackle machine and special teams maven for the Cougars, was setting up possible free-agent deals when he received the call from the Bucs.
“No clue that was about to happen,” Stuard said.
A two-year starter for the Cougars, Stuard led the Cougars in tackles his final two seasons with 97 as a junior and 61 during a coronavirus-abbreviated senior season.
Stuard (5-foot-11½ and 230 pounds) averaged a league-best 8.7 stops per game and was named to the All-AAC first team in his final season.
Stuard admitted knowing nothing about the tradition of Mr. Irrelevant, which originated in 1976 when Paul Salata, a receiver at Southern California and with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, founded Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach, Calif. As the final pick in the draft, Stuard and his family are invited for a week of festivities in his honor and will receive the Lowsman Trophy, which depicts a player fumbling the ball.
“I just know I’m going to be the opposite of that wherever I go,” Stuard said.
With defensive end Payton Turner taken with the 28th pick in the first round by the New Orleans Saints, UH had multiple players selected in the NFL draft for the fourth time in the last six years.
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