| (AP Photo/John Bazemore) |
NEW YORK (Apr. 15) — Georgia Tech junior split end Dez White has been selected as a first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, as announced by the NFL in its annual draft on Saturday. He was the 69th pick overall.
The 6-1, 219-pound receiver from Orange Park, Fla., finished the 1999 season with 44 receptions for 860 yards, an ACC-best 19.6-yards-per-catch average, and five touchdowns. He also ranked third in the ACC and 17th nationally with 146.9 yards per game in all-purpose yardage. Last season, he ranked 27th nationally in kickoff returns (23.8 yards per return) and also lined up in the back field on many occasions, running the ball 11 times for 67 yards.
White concludes his three-year tenure on the Flats tied for the Tech record in career touchdown catches with 14, and he ranks second in receiving yards (1,833) and ninth in receptions (90). He has returned more kickoffs (69) for more yards (1,701) than any player in Tech history except Drew Hill, with a career average of 24.7 yards per return.
He made the all-Atlantic Coast Conference second team twice and was the co-MVP of the 1999 Gator Bowl with quarterback Joe Hamilton.
