Anderson No. 8 Pick In NFL Draft, Heading To Atlanta

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas defensive end Jamaal Anderson was the No. 8 pick Saturday in the NFL Draft, selected by the Atlanta Falcons.<br/><br/>Atlanta went to the Super Bowl in 1999 with a running

Saturday, April 28th 2007, 4:28 pm

By: News On 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas defensive end Jamaal Anderson was the No. 8 pick Saturday in the NFL Draft, selected by the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta went to the Super Bowl in 1999 with a running back named Jamal Anderson.

The 6â€™6, 285-pound Jamaal Anderson was expected to be picked in the first round because of his size and production at Arkansas. He started the final 19 games of his Arkansas career and had an SEC-leading 13 1/2 sacks in 14 games last season.

He was coveted by coaches because he has running and passing skills, as well.

In January, Anderson decided to bypass his senior season at Arkansas and declared for the draft, then spent the subsequent months preparing for Saturday's announcement. Before the draft, Arkansas coach Houston Nutt spoke well of Anderson to numerous NFL coaches, scouts and executives.

Gary Wichard, Anderson's agent, said Anderson hasn't attained his full maturity yet both physically and as a football player "so his upside is just through the roof."

In recent weeks, Anderson has appeared on national television shows on ESPN, Fox and the NFL Network, and he's praised Arkansas and the Razorbacks coaching staff. USA Today and ESPN.com also have done stories on him.

"Jamaal has done more for the University of Arkansas in the last three weeks in such a positive manner than anybody I've ever seen," Nutt said. "He's been a first-class ambassador for us."

In high school, Anderson played football at Little Rock Parkview.