Utah State’s Devante Mays drafted by Green Bay in seventh round of 2017 NFL draft

Utah State's Devante Mays scores a touchdown against Fresno State during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State running back Devante Mays became the 11th Aggie selected to play professional football in the past seven years as he was taken in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the 238th overall pick by the Green Bay Packers.

Overall, Utah State has now had 121 players selected in the NFL Draft, including four running backs in the last six years.

Mays joins two Aggies who are currently in their second year with Green Bay in safety Marwin Evans and linebacker Kyler Fackrell. Fackrell was selected by the Packers in the third round (88th pick) of the 2016 NFL Draft, while Evans signed a free agent contract with Green Bay prior to last season.

Overall, Mays is the ninth Aggie ever to be drafted by the Packers organization joining guard Lionel Aldridge (4/54) in 1963, defensive tackle Doug Gosnell (8/194) in 1969, defensive back Bob Fuhriman (13/321) in 1975, quarterback Keith Myers (9/228) in 1978, wide receiver Ron Cassidy (8/193) in 1979, tight end John Thompson (9/235) in 1979, defensive back Ed Berry (7/183) in 1986 and Kyler Fackrell (3/88) in 2016.

Mays will join 13 other former Aggies who are currently on NFL rosters, including safety Maurice Alexander, who is with the Los Angeles Rams; safety Marwin Evans, who is with the Green Bay Packers; linebacker Kyler Fackrell, who is with the Green Bay Packers; offensive guard Tyler Larsen, who is with the Carolina Panthers; defensive back Nevin Lawson, who is with the Detroit Lions; long snapper Patrick Scales, who is with the Chicago Bears; offensive tackle Donald Penn, who is with the Oakland Raiders; tight end D.J. Tialavea, who is with the Atlanta Falcons; running back Robert Turbin, who is with the Indianapolis Colts; linebacker Nick Vigil, who is with the Cincinnati Bengals; linebacker Zach Vigil, who is with the Washington Redskins; linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is with the Seattle Seahawks; and running back Kerwynn Williams, who is with the Arizona Cardinals.

Mays, a 5-foot-11, 230-pound running back from Livingston, Texas (Livington HS/Blinn JC) played in just six games during his senior season in 2016 with two starts as he battled injuries all year. On the season, he rushed for 259 yards on 37 carries (7.0 ypc) and three touchdowns, which included a career-high 208 yards on 18 carries and a career-high-tying three touchdowns in the season-opener against Weber State (9/1). His 66-yard touchdown run against the Wildcats was a career-long, while his 208 rushing yards are tied for the 19th-most in a single-game in school history.

As a junior, Mays finished the year with 165 carries for 966 yards (5.9 ypr) with nine touchdowns to lead the team in each category. He ranked third in the Mountain West and 39th nationally with his 5.9 yards per carry, which ranked ninth all-time in school history for a single-season and tied for seventh all-time at USU for a career. He also ranked seventh in the MW with his nine rushing touchdowns and 10th in the conference with his 74.3 rushing yards per game. He had three 100-yard rushing games during the season, highlighted by a season-best 176 yards on a career-high 22 carries against Wyoming (10/30). He also rushed for 133 yards on a career-high-tying 22 carries against Nevada (11/21) and carried the ball 12 times for 124 yards against Akron (12/22) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, as those 124 yards rank as the 11th-most in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl history.

In all, Mays ranks 21st all-time at Utah State in rushing with 1,225 yards on 202 carries (6.1 ypc) and seventh all-time in yards per carry (6.1).

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

– USU –

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