Fans all around the nation watched anxiously as the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft came across their television screens Thursday night. Fork Union Military Academy fans, especially.
After 22 picks, Christian Darrisaw of Virginia Tech was announced for the Minnesota Vikings' 23rd selection. As the production panned to Darrisaw's family home in Ocean City, Maryland, the 2017 alumnus celebrated with his family and friends. With Darrisaw's draft pick, the offensive lineman joined a prestigious list of Fork Union Military Academy first round selections:
- 1954 – Steve Meilinger, pick 8 to the Washington Redskins
- 1982 – Mike Quick, pick 20 to the Philadelphia Eagles
- 1987 – Vinny Testaverde, pick 1 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 1992 – Robert Jones, pick 24 to the Dallas Cowboys
- 1996 – Rickey Dudley, pick 9 to the Oakland Raiders
- 1996 – Eddie George, pick 14 to the Houston Oilers
- 1997 – Jim Druckenmiller, pick 26 to the San Francisco 49ers
- 2000 – Plaxico Burress, pick 8 to the Pittsburgh Steelers
- 2004 – Chris Perry, pick 26 to the Cincinnati Bengals
- 2007 – Gaines Adams, pick 4 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2010 – Kareem Jackson, pick 20 to the Houston Texans
- 2011 – Anthony Castonzo, pick 22 to the Indianapolis Colts
- 2021 – Christian Darrisaw, pick 23 to the Minnesota Vikings
Coming out of high school, Darrisaw was ranked the 127
th offensive tackle in the country, enrolled at the Academy for a postgraduate year in 2017 and signed with the Virginia Tech. The Maryland native started all 35 games played as a Hokie and earned second-team AP All-America and first-team All-ACC honors his junior season.
"I think I had one Zoom meeting with the Vikings and went over a few plays like an install, like getting to know each other," Darrisaw said Thursday night. "It definitely was surprising, but I knew anything could happen. I knew this could be a possible situation I could be put into, and I'm just happy to be a Viking."
