FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -The New York Jets got even stronger in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.
They selected University of Massachusetts offensive lineman Vladimir Ducasse in the second round Friday night, shoring up a unit that helped pave the way for the NFL’s top-rushing offense last season.
The 6-foot-4, 332-pound Ducasse was the Jets’ first selection Friday, after they took Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson with the 29th overall pick in the first round Thursday. New York’s pass defense ranked No. 1 in the league last season.
Ducasse was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved to Stamford, Conn., at age 14. He was a versatile lineman for the Minutemen, and started for three years at left tackle.
ould also move to guard as a backup to Alan Faneca and Brandon Moore, and compete with Rob Turner, Wayne Hunter and Matt Slauson for the first spot in the offensive line rotation.
The 22-year-old Ducasse has very little football experience after first playing the game in 2003 at Stamford High School. He played basketball and soccer in Haiti, but didn’t play football until asking his high school coach, Kevin Jones, for an opportunity.
Considered a raw, but athletic talent, Ducasse developed into a solid player and was then recruited by several smaller Division I programs, including Maine, Hofstra, Northeastern and Delaware.
He didn’t play for UMass until the fourth game of the 2006 season but quickly became a starter. He was a unanimous All-Colonial Athletic Association selection as a senior, and helped lead an offensive line that ranked second in the conference in sacks allowed.
Jets vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales said Ducasse had a solid performance at the Senior Bowl, and envisions him becoming a starter at the pro level.
New York was impressed not only by Ducasse’s performance on the field, but what he has gone through off it. Ducasse was 5 when his mother died, and was later sent by his father, Delinois, along with his brother, MacArthur, to Connecticut to get a good education.
He was working out for the Senior Bowl when the earthquake struck Haiti, killing an estimated 230,000 in January. Ducasse learned that his family was safe, and the home he grew up in suffered only minor damage.
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