Friday was a busy night for a pair of former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standouts as South Carolina State linebacker Darius Leonard and North Carolina A&T State offensive lineman Brandon Parker were selected in the NFL Draft. Leonard was picked in the second round (4th pick) by the Indianapolis Colts while Parker went in the third round (1st pick) to the Oakland Raiders.
 
Leonard, the two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, becomes the 15th player in MEAC history to have been picked in the second round and the highest drafted MEAC player since SC State's Anthony Cook was drafted third overall in the second round of the 1995 draft. The last MEAC player picked in the second round was Hampton's Justin Durant in 2007. Leonard is also the first SC State Bulldog drafted since Javon Hargrave and Temarrick Hemingway in 2016 and becomes the fourth, second round pick in school history (Anthony Cook, Barney Chavous and John Gilliam). He also became the school’s all-time leading tackler this past season and is considered one of the most decorated defensive players to wear the uniform, earning multiple All-America honors.
 
Parker is a three-time MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and is the second straight Aggie to hear his name called on draft day as Tarik Cohen was picked in the fourth round last season. Parker becomes the highest N.C. A&T State player picked since Mike Hamilton's third round selection in 1997 and the first time since the 1996 and 1997 drafts that the Aggies have had draft picks in consecutive seasons. He becomes the first MEAC offensive lineman drafted since South Carolina State's Johnny Culbreath in 2011 and 19th MEAC player who was picked in the third round.
 
The selections mark the fourth straight year the MEAC has had student-athletes selected in the NFL Draft and the first year since 2016 to have multiple draft picks. The NFL Draft concludes on Saturday with rounds four through seven televised on the NFL Network, ESPN, ABC and ESPN3.