Sash Picked by Giants in Draft's 6th Round

April 30, 2011

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — First-team all-Big Ten Conference safety is heading to the Big Apple as a sixth round selection of the NFL’s New York Giants in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The hard-hitting Sash leaves the Hawkeye football program ranked fifth in career interceptions with 13. He holds the UI’s career record with 392 interception return yards, a mark that ranks fourth best in Big Ten history. The most memorable of those pick was an 86-yard touchdown return in a come-from-behind victory over Indiana at Kinnick Stadium during Iowa’s brilliant 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl season.

Sash also collected a pair of interceptions in Iowa’s 2009 Outback Bowl victory over South Carolina. That performance tied a UI bowl record.

A native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Sash was named third team all-America by Phil Steele after the 2010 season, his junior season at the UI.

“Sash has limitations athletically but he does possess the instincts, toughness and prowess to develop into a valued contributor as a reserve and heavy special teams player at the next level,” the editors of espn.com wrote after the selection.

The Giants finished 10-6 last season and in a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NFC’s East. 2010 was also the second straight season that New York did not advance to post-season play.

Sash is the sixth Hawkeye taken in the 2011 NFL Draft. The UI parade began on Thursday night when defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn was selected by the Tampa Bay Bucaneers in the first round. Defensive line mate Christian Ballard was then selected by Minnesota in the fourth round followed by quarterback Ricky Stanzi (Kansas City), defensive lineman Karl Klug (Tennessee) and offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde (Philadelphia) in the fifth round.

Iowa also had six players taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. That list included Bryan Bulaga, a starter in the offensive line as rookie for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, and Pat Angerer (Indianapolis), Amari Spievey (Detroit) and Tony Moeaki (Kansas City) who all secured significant playing time in their first season in the NFL.