Ken Bishop
Northern Illinois University defensive tackle Ken Bishop (Lauderhill, Fla./Piper HS/Ellsworth CC) became the second Huskie to be chosen in the 2014 National Football League Draft when he was selected Saturday in the seventh round by the Dallas Cowboys.
Overall, Bishop was the 251st player chosen, joining NIU teammate Jimmie Ward, the first round selection of the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, as Huskies in this year’s draft.
NIU had multiple players chosen in the NFL Draft for the seventh time ever and for the first time since 2007. The Huskies had two defensive players selected in the same year for the first time since 1987, when noseguard Doug Bartlett was a fourth-round choice of the Los Angeles Rams and linebacker Clarence Vaughn was chosen by the Washington Redskins in the eighth round.
NIU head coach Rod Carey was happy to see Bishop, a junior college transfer who started at noseguard for the Huskies in each of the last two years, drafted.
“I’m really happy for Ken,” Carey said. “He was a very productive player for us over the last two years and now he has the opportunity to go down and make the Dallas Cowboys team. He’s explosive, has great foot speed and plays hard. When you get those three things together, you have a really productive inside player.”
Ken Bishop
Bishop earned first team All Mid-American Conference honors as a senior after making 70 tackles, including 36 solo stops, with seven tackles for loss and two interceptions in 13 games. He dominated the line of scrimmage against Toledo while making a career-high 11 stops and picked off passes versus UMass and Utah State.
In two seasons, Bishop made 125 tackles, 16.5 for loss, with 3.5 quarterback sacks and five pass break-ups. He was even used at fullback during the Huskies’ 2012 season that culminated in a trip to the Discover Orange Bowl. Bishop was on a pair of 12-2 teams at NIU.
“Obviously this senior class is a group that went 46-10 so you know there were a bunch of good football players in the group,” Carey said. “Their love of the game has taken them forward and that will carry them a long way at the next level as well.”
Bishop joins fellow Huskie Doug Free in Dallas. Free, an offensive tackle, was drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft and has been with the team for the last seven seasons.
His selection comes two days after teammate Jimmie Ward answered the call from the San Francisco 49ers. For more information on NIU football and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
