Yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles officially announced that they have signed 10 undrafted free agents from the 2019 draft class. Here's a quick look at their football background and the accolades they collected over the past few seasons.
Rutgers DL Kevin Wilkins | 6’2, 304 lbs
Wilkins started 11 games at defensive end in his final year at Rutgers. He led the defensive line with 50 total tackles, and added 48 stops against the run. The David Bender Trophy was given to Wilkins - the trophy is awarded to linemen to properly recognize merit.
UAB DT Anthony Rush | 6’5, 350 lbs
Rush recorded 27 tackles and 11 tackles for loss in his final season at UAB, while also picking up two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Penn State OL Ryan Bates | 6’4, 302 lbs
Bates is a Warrington, Pennsylvania native that attended Archbishop Wood high school. In 2018 he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors by the league's coaches and media. His best performance in 2018 was against the Pitt Panthers, when he was selected to Pro Football Focus' National and Big Ten Teams of the Week. Bates was also a candidate on the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, given to the top interior lineman in the country. In 2017 Bates also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media voters, and garnered third-team All-Big Ten from Phil Steele. In his redshirt freshman season, he was selected as a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and USA Today. Also was named honorable-mention Campus Insiders Freshman All-America and to the ESPN.com Big Ten All-Bowl Team.
Dickinson State DB Jay Liggins | 6’2, 205 lbs
Liggins played one season at Dickinson State, recording 24 total tackles, three interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. He was also a star in track and field, competing in both the long jump and triple jump.
Penn State WR Deandre Thompkins | 5'11, 188 lbs
Thompkins finished his collegiate career tied for fourth all-time at Penn State with two career punt return touchdowns, matching 10 other Nittany Lions. He became the 31st Nittany Lion with more than 1,000 career receiving yards, and finished his career ranked 21st at PSU in career receiving yards (1,245). Against Akron in 2017, Thompkins set a school record for punt return average in a game with 31.8 yard per return. Also in 2017, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and third-team accolades from the media voters as a return specialist, while also being named to Phil Steele's first-team All-Big Ten honors as a punt returner.
Stanford LB Joey Alfieri | 6'3, 239 lbs
Alfieri was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention (2017, 2018), and a 2016 All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He finished his collegiate career with 165 tackles (89 solo), 26.5 tackles for loss, 14.0 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, six passes defended, and one touchdown in 50 games.
Stanford G Nate Herbig | 6'4, 334 lbs
Herbig made the All-Pac-12 team twice (second team in 2018, first team in 2017). He was also a star in the classroom as well, as he was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention (2017, 2018). Back in 2016, the Hawaii native was the first true freshman to start on Stanford's offensive line since 2012, second since 2000.
Wyoming RB Nico Evans | 5'9, 211 lbs
In 47 career games at Wyoming, Evans rushed the ball 239 times for 1,433 yards and crossed the goal line eight times on the ground. Through the air he caught 19 passes for 153 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Wisconsin LB TJ Edwards | 6'1, 242 lbs
In 2018, Edwards was named First-team All-Big Ten by the media, and second-team All-Big Ten by coaches. The previous year he was a Butkus Award finalist and a first-team All-America (AP, ESPN, USA Today), second-team All-America (AFCA, Sporting News, Walter Camp), and first-team All-Big Ten (consensus). Edwards was the defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl in 2016 and a All-Big Ten honorable mention (consensus). His first season in Wisconsin he became a Freshman All-America (FWAA) and a Big Ten All-Freshman (ESPN). He made 52 starts at inside linebacker for the badgers, which are the second-most in school history and fifth-most by a Big Ten player ever. His collegiate stats include 367 tackles, 37.5 TFLs, 8.0 sacks, and 10 interceptions. In 3 separate seasons he led the Badgers in tackling (2015, 2016, 2018).
Weber State OL Iosua Opeta | 6'4, 305 lbs
Iosua twice earned All-America honors in his time at Weber State. He finished his career playing in 50 career games in four seasons, and he started every game of the final three seasons on the offensive line. He also twice earned first-team All-Big Sky honors.
Iowa C Keegan Render | 6'4, 307 lbs
Render was one of six Iowa seniors named to the team's 2018 Leadership Group. He was third-team All-Big Ten by league media and honorable mention by coaches in his final season, winning the Hayden Fry Award (offense).
