The Cleveland Browns drafted defensive end Armonty Bryant from East Central (Okla.) and offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey from Chadron State (Neb.).
BEREA, Ohio -- Two big players from two tiny schools, two diamonds in the rough. The Browns selected a couple of them in the seventh round of the NFL Draft on Saturday, first picking defensive end Armonty Bryant at No. 217 and then nabbing offensive tackle Garrett Gilkey at 227.
Bryant attended East Central University, a little Division II school in Oklahoma. It was the place the Texas native landed after a failed attempt at Abilene Christian because of academics, and a year at Cisco Junior College.
Gilkey spent his four years at Chadron State, an even smaller Division II school in Nebraska. It was the school he fell in love with after his Aurora Christian High School coach Don Beebe recommended his alma mater to the late bloomer. (Beebe is a former NFL wide receiver who played in six Super Bowls.)
Both have their questions and both have their strengths. The Browns chose to focus on the positives in both cases.
At 6-4, 263 pounds, Bryant has the physical skills of a defender who can dominate. In his senior season at East Central, he recorded 10.5 sacks, 54 tackles, four forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.
He did that even after surgery to repair a torn labrum after his junior season.
And all that came in just eight games because Bryant was suspended after he was arrested and charged with selling marijuana to an undercover police officer in October 2012.
"Good people make mistakes," Bryant said. "I've always been told that. I feel like it was just a stupid move on my part. I should have been more mature about the situation and been more focused on football and what I wanted to do with my life. Now that I've got that second chance, I feel like I won't let anyone down, I won't let the people around me down, I won't let the Cleveland Browns down and I appreciate them for taking a chance on me."
Bryant said he had extensive discussions with Browns personnel about his arrest.
"As soon as we got past that, I think they got a little sense of what type of person I actually am," Bryant said.
Gilkey, meanwhile, is a solid 6-5, 314 pounds who destroyed competition in the minuscule Rocky Mountain Conference. But that was the problem -- Gilkey's performance came at the small Nebraska school where he rarely faced top-level competition.
"There's been a knock on me for a long time because of my competition level," Gilkey said. "But I have a chip on my shoulder and I'm excited to play for the Browns."
Gilkey overcame an operation for a heart condition before his freshman year in high school, appendicitis in his junior season at Chadron State and said he feels a bond with Browns Pro Bowl offensive lineman Joe Thomas for their similar concerns about arm length.
"I know that a lot of people have knocked on me about my arm length as well," said Gilkey, whose arms measured 325/8 inches at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Despite the questions, both seventh-rounders proclaim there's little reason to doubt them, now.
"I bring to the table just a relentless attitude," Bryant said. "I want to get to the quarterback, I want to make a big play. I feel like I'm that guy you can really count on. I want to be that person who when you're in a hard situation . . . I feel like I can be that guy who come out there and delivers."
Said Gilkey: "I'm very excited about it. It allows me to really reach the potential I want to reach."