Northern Illinois University two-time all-America selection Sutton Smith became the second Huskie selected in the 2019 National Football League Draft when the Pittsburgh Steelers chose him with the 175th pick in the sixth round Saturday.
Smith’s selection marks the first time since 2014 that two Huskies have been drafted in the same year. Left tackle Max Scharping was taken by the Houston Texans with the 55th overall selection in the second round Friday. The draft was held in Nashville, Tenn..
Smith, the 39th Northern Illinois player all-time chosen in the NFL Draft, was the first Huskie to earn first-team all-America honors in back-to-back years and was a consensus choice in 2017. Smith, a native of St. Charles, Mo., ranked fourth in the Nation in sacks and tackles for loss per game. He set the school record for sacks in a season with 15 in 2018 and the Northern Illinois record for tackles for loss in 2017 with 29.5 Smith, a defensive end, is 6-1 and 237 pounds.
The 2018 Vern Smith Award winner (Mid-American Conference MVP), Smith led a Northern Illinois defense that set the school record for team sacks in a season with 50. In addition to his ability to stop opposing offenses, Smith, who earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive year, scored a pair of touchdowns in 2018. His first came after he blocked his second punt of the year in Northern Illinois’ victory over Toledo, while his second, an 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown, came at Western Michigan.
Smith, who came to Northern Illinois as a running back, ranks third on Northern Illinois’ all-time sacks list with 30, while his 56 career tackles for loss ranks second to Larry English of Marmion Academy, who amassed 63 in his four-year career at Northern Illinois. English, the highest draft choice in Northern Illinois history is Northern Illinois’ all-time sack leader with 31.5.
Scharping is a three-time first-team all-Mid-American Conference selection who started all 53 games during his four-year career and helped lead the Huskies to the 2018 MAC championship. Scharping is the first Huskie offensive lineman taken in the NFL Draft since Doug Free went to the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2007 Draft. The 6-5, 327-pound left tackle becomes the highest Northern Illinois offensive lineman to be selected and surpasses NIU Hall of Famer Ryan Diem, of Glenbard North High School, who was the 118th selection in 2001.
“Those guys have been amazing to me over the years,” Scharping said of Diem and Free.
Northern Illinois will open the 2019 season Saturday, Aug. 31 when the Huskies welcome Illinois State to Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
— Northern Illinois University