New Limestone Football Coach Announced Detroit Lions' 2016 Draft Pick

Mike Furrey, who was announced as the new head football coach at Limestone College on May 11, always had dreams of having his name called at the NFL Draft.

Although that didn't happen for Furrey as a player, the former Marshall University wide receivers coach made a name for himself in the NFL by staying the course, working hard and making the most of opportunities.

Sixteen years after his NFL career began as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts, he helped make Graham Glasgow's dream come true.

During the recent 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, Furrey introduced the third-round pick of one of his former teams, the Detroit Lions. He announced the name of Glasgow, who played center on the collegiate level for the Michigan Wolverines.

"It took me 38 years to get to the draft," Furrey said. "It's funny because all I ever wanted to do as a kid was go to the draft and be drafted and all that good stuff. To cap my NFL career off by being in the NFL Draft and announcing a pick for a team just brings it full circle."

Furrey's opportunity to announce the pick had just as much to do with him being an ambassador for the NFL off the field as what it does with his professional career.

He was a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2009, an honor given to players for their charity work and volunteerism. He was with the Cleveland Browns at the time.

Because he played with Detroit prior to his time in Cleveland, the Lions selected him to represent the organization at the draft in conjunction with the league's initiative to promote the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

All third-round picks will be announced by people who either won the award or were a finalist.

Furrey's dedication to community causes is nothing new to people in any city where he has coached or played. While with Marshall, in Huntington, WV, the Mike Furrey Foundation was involved with things such as "Baskets of Hope" that he and Marshall players delivered to Cabell Huntington Hospital on Fridays prior to home football games.

There was a bit of symmetry behind Furrey announcing the pick for the Lions, which was the third of five NFL teams he was with. When Furrey found out he would be announcing the pick, he called former St. Louis Rams head coach and Detroit offensive coordinator Mike Martz to speak with him about it.

"I called Mike Martz and I said, 'This is one of the greatest honors that I'll be able to do in my career,'" Furrey said. "Obviously, he's done a lot for me and I thank him about once a week for all the opportunities he gave me."

The 2016 season marks the 10-year anniversary of Furrey having one of the NFL's greatest turnaround seasons for a wide receiver. After Detroit signed Furrey in 2006, he caught 98 passes for 1,086 yards and seven touchdowns during the season. It was the second-most receptions in the NFL that season behind Houston's Andre Johnson (103).

In 2005, Furrey was a member of the St. Louis Rams, who moved him to safety because of his Arena Football League experience with the New York Dragons.

Furrey did not record a reception in 2005, making his turnaround from zero catches in 2005 to 98 in 2006 the greatest single-season improvement for a non-rookie wide receiver in NFL history.

His wife, Koren, found out from reading a newspaper that he was released by St. Louis, which opened the door for Detroit to sign him.

From there, Furrey moved back home to Columbus and started training with the intent on playing safety in the NFL somewhere. In March 2006, he was called by the Buffalo Bills who said there was interest in him at safety and they would get back to him. The Bills didn't get that chance.

Martz, who had just taken the offensive coordinator position with the Lions, called while Furrey was at the Ohio high school basketball state tournament and said he wanted him at slot receiver.

"I said, "Listen Coach, I'm 210 pounds right now,'" Furrey said. "He said, 'Well, when I told you to move to safety, you gained 20 pounds in three months. Now, you've got three months to lose it. You'll be alright.'"

(Original article by Grant Traylor, Huntington Herald-Dispatch, April 26, 2016)