Football: Three Panthers drafted on last day

Pitt sent three more players to the NFL on Saturday as Dion Lewis, Jason Pinkston and Greg… Pitt sent three more players to the NFL on Saturday as Dion Lewis, Jason Pinkston and Greg Romeus were all selected on the final day of the draft.

Lewis, a running back who left Pitt after his sophomore season, was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the 18th pick of the fifth round and the 149th pick overall.

He joins former Pitt running back LeSean McCoy, who was selected by Philadelphia in the second round in 2009.

The Cleveland Browns drafted Jason Pinkston with the next selection. The Browns took two Pitt players in this year’s draft as they selected Jabaal Sheard 37th overall on Friday.

Greg Romeus was the last Pitt player selected. Once considered an early round pick, injuries forced Romeus to sit out much of the senior season and dropped his draft stock. The New Orleans Saints took Romeus with the 226^th overall pick in the seventh round.

Pitt’s five drafted players led all Big East teams. Connecticut and West Virginia both had four players selected while 22 Big East players were drafted overall.

Fullback Henry Hynoski, who decided not to return to Pitt for his final year of eligibility, went undrafted. Punter Dan Hutchins, safety Dom DeCicco, defensive end Nate Nix and cornerback Ricky Gary also weren’t selected.

Until the player lockout ends, the undrafted players won’t be able to sign as rookie free agents.

Lewis, who attended Blair Academy in New Jersey, is fourth on Pitt’s all-time career rush list despite only paying two seasons. As a freshman, he ran for 1,799 yards, which was the second-highest single-season total for a Panther.

His two-year total of 2,860 yards broke the two-year rushing record previously held by McCoy. Lewis led Pitt with 1,061 rushing yards last season. Lewis was projected to get drafted in the fifth or sixth round.

A local product, Pinkston attended Baldwin High School and started three years at left tackle for Pitt and made 41 career starts. He was selected to the All-Big East first time two times. Experts projected Pinkston to leave the board in the fourth or fifth round.

Romeus attended Coral Glades High School in Florida. He only played two games as a senior due to back and knee injuries. Following his junior season, he was named the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year. He finished that season with 43 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

Even with the injury, several projections had Romeus leaving the board in the third or fourth round.