NEW YORK -- University of Delaware football All-Americans Joe Flacco (#5 at left) and Omar Cuff (#28 at right) will be glued to their television sets and their cell phones this weekend as both are candidates to be selected when the National Football League conducts its annual college draft.

The draft will get underway Saturday, April 26, at 3 p.m. with the first two rounds taking the place. The final four rounds of the draft will be conducted Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.. The entire draft will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN2 with extensive coverage also available and the NFL Network.

Flacco, a 6-6, 235-lb. quarterback from Audubon, NJ (Audubon High School), is among the highest rated signal-callers and is projected to be drafted either in the first or second rounds by most experts, whose throwing arm is widely-considered the strongest among quarterbacks.

Cuff, a 5-10, 200 lb. running back from Landover, MD (C.H. Flowers High School), is considered by most experts as a possible late round selection. Draft experts cite his ability to run hard and low to the ground while also catching passes out of the backfield as his major strengths.

Flacco will most likely be the highest drafted player in Delaware football history and join four other Blue Hen quarterbacks who have been selected.

Rich Gannon, who retired two years ago following a All-Pro career, was selected in the fourth round of the 1987 draft by New England (and later traded to Minnesota), becoming the highest pick ever for the Blue Hens.

Other UD quarterbacks selected in the draft were Jeff Komlo by Detroit in 1979, Scott Brunner by the New York Giants in 1980, and Andy Hall by Philadelphia in 2006.

Should Cuff be selected, he would be the first Delaware running back selected since Dan Reeder was picked in the fifth round of the 1985 draft by the Los Angeles Raiders. It would also mark the first time Delaware has had multiple draft selections since Hall and defensive end Shawn Johnson (Oakland) were each picked in the sixth round in 2004.

Flacco, an honor student as an accounting major, set 20 school records during his career and enjoyed an outstanding senior season for the Blue Hens in 2007, leading the team to the NCAA Division I FCS national championship game.

He earned Colonial Athletic Association Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Eastern College Athletic Conference Eastern Player of the Year, and third team The Sports Network All-American honors. He completed 331 of 521 passes for 4,263 yards and 23 touchdowns with just five interceptions during the 2007 season as he ranked No. 6 in the nation in passing yardage per game (284.2), No. 10 in total offense per game (285.7), and No. 18 in passing efficiency (144.91).

Cuff, a theatre major with a minor in Black American studies, was a consensus first team All-American in 2007 as he was named to the first team of all five major All-American teams selected this season - The Sports Network, Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, and the College Sporting News.

Delaware’s all-time leading scorer and second all-time leading rusher, Cuff enjoyed an outstanding season in 2007 as he set school single season records with 398 carries, 1,945 yards, and 35 touchdowns while also catching 55 passes for 554 yards and four touchdowns. He led the nation in scoring with 15.6 points per game and ranked seventh in rushing with 129.7 yards per game.

He set a single season NCAA record with 39 touchdowns, the third highest total in the history of college football, and with 35 rushing touchdowns. His 65 career rushing touchdowns is also a Colonial Athletic Association record while his 73 career touchdowns is No. 1 all-time at Delaware and his 4,364 rushing yards rank him No. 2 all-time at Delaware.

Delaware has had a total of 27 players selected since the draft began, including last year’s pick, tight end Ben Patrick, tabbed in the seventh round by the Arizona Cardinals.

In addition to Flacco and Cuff, other Colonial Athletic Association draft hopefuls are Richmond running back Tim Hightower and wide receiver Arman Shields and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos.