April 25, 2009 | Football
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford on Saturday became
 the fourth Bulldog player to be taken with the first overall pick of the
 annual NFL draft and the first in 56 years.
Stafford’s name was called as the first pick by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
 in announcing the Bulldog quarterback is now a member of the Detroit Lions, owners of the number one choice.
“It's great, a huge relief,” said Stafford. “I’m excited be a Lion and can’t wait to get out there and start playing football. I’m going to try and get ready as quick as I can and if that’s game one, it’s game one; if it’s game eight or not even in the first year, I’m there for the coaches and will be working hard to try and help this team win any way I can.”
Stafford becomes only the second Georgia quarterback to be selected 
in the first round. Johnny Rauch was the second selection of the first round 
in the 1949 draft, ironically, also by the Lions although he was immediately
 traded.

 Other Georgia players selected as the first overall pick of the draft are HB
 Frank Sinkwich (1943, Detroit Lions), HB Charley Trippi (1947, Chicago
 Cardinals), and E Harry Babcock (1953, San Francisco 49ers).


"I'm excited for Matthew, I'm excited for the Lions, and for the city of Detroit," head 
coach Mark Richt said. "They're getting a great ballplayer and a great 
person. I'm also excited for the University of Georgia football program to
 have the No. 1 player in the 2009 draft."


Though playing only three seasons at Georgia, Stafford finished third in 
school history with 7,731 yards, 51 touchdown passes and 564 completions.
 The Bulldogs posted a 27-7 record in three seasons with Stafford as their 
starting quarterback. He led Georgia to three straight bowl wins and was
 named MVP of two of those -- the 2006 Chick-Fil-A Bowl and the 2009 Capital
 One Bowl.

 In 2008, Stafford recorded 3,459 yards passing and a school-record 25 
touchdowns with only 10 interceptions.
He broke Georgia's all-time record
 for total offense in a season by accumulating 3,499 yards and also had the
 second-most passing yards in a season of any Bulldog in history. Stafford
 started all 13 games in 2008 and led Georgia (10-3) to its second straight
 season with at least 10 wins.
Note on 1949 Draft of John Rauch by the Lions:
Georgia QB John Rauch, who started every game for the Bulldogs in 1945-46-47-48, was drafted as the second pick of the first round by the Detroit Lions in 1949. He was immediately traded to the Boston Yanks for the rights to SMU’s Doak Walker. Boston Yanks folded in 1949, reemerged as New York Bulldogs in the same year and was the team Rauch played for in ’49. New York Bulldogs became New York Yanks in 1950, playing in Yankee Stadium and absorbed many of the players from the disbanded New York Yankees of the AFL, the AFL team that also initially drafted Rauch. Rauch played part of 1951 with the Philadelphia Eagles, before retiring to coach. Rauch was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II and hired John Madden and Bill Walsh as his top two assistants. He also later coached the Buffalo Bills when they drafted O.J. Simpson.
