The NFL Draft Starts Tonight With a Local Twist

The NFL has moved the 1st round of their annual draft from Saturday at noon to Thursday (today) at 8 pm.  Only the first round takes place today even under the lockout by the owners.  Probably not since the days of Gary Brown of Williamsport and John Flannery of Pottsville will the draft have an impact so close to home.

Henry Hynoski of the University of Pittsburgh and Southern Columbia High School is expected to fall between the 4th and 6th rounds as a fullback.

Broadcasting local high school football for the past 15 years and covering it for 22 overall, I got to see the highs and lows of Hyno.  I was in Scranton when he was injured his freshman year in a playoff run and had to watch the rest from the bench.  I had the call his sophomore year when he rushed for 409 yards and 6 touchdowns against Pius X.  That game legitimized his speed and set the tone for his junior and senior seasons.  I was also their when Old Forge asked the question of "Henry Who?"

As devastating as Henry was as a high school runner, Pitt utilized him as a blocker helping Dion Lewis, Shady McCoy and Ray Graham to new heights.

While most of Pennsylvania knows about Henry from what they seen on Fridays and Saturdays, the rest of us never seen the hard work Henry put the other 5 days a week since junior high.

The NFL draft is something of football capitalism plain and simple.  Your not mentioned in the draft unless you have the skills and work ethic to produce......plain and simple.  NFL "War Rooms" take this very serious not to waste picks and build teams, but complete flops could come back to haunt you both in the short term and long term.  The 4th through 6th rounds are considered value areas where you can get great player even future Hall of Famers and not have to part with big dollars.  To get to this area of football you have to have talent, some luck, but a huge heart.

When the 4th round starts on Saturday, hopefully Henry is surrounded by friends and family when that phone rings and says, "This is _______, we have selected you in the draft." With all of things wrong in this world, the locals will have something to cheer!!!!

Good luck Henry!!!!