Giacomini, Goff in select company

Ex-Bay State stars will get NFL shots

JONATHAN GOFF Linebacker tabbed by Giants

Jonathan Goff always loved football. Breno Giacomini has learned to love the game.

Goff took his passion, desire, and considerable talents from St. John's Prep to Vanderbilt, where he was a four-year starting linebacker in the rugged Southeastern Conference. Giacomini took his mammoth frame from Malden High to Louisville, where as a senior, he tackled a new position, attracting the attention of scouts with his play-to-the-whistle intensity and athleticism.

Now the two Bay State products have earned the opportunity to play in the NFL, a destination neither is taking lightly.

The Green Bay Packers called first, selecting the 6-foot-7-inch, 300-pound Giacomini with the 15th pick in the fifth round (150th overall). Giacomini, who gave up football as a junior in high school to concentrate on basketball before returning to the gridiron his senior season, played right tackle for the Cardinals last season after shuffling between tight end and tackle the previous three seasons.

"This is a big day in my life. I've been waiting a long time, but this is a dream come true," Giacomini said last night. He had a sense the Packers would call his name after meeting James Campen, the team's offensive line coach, at the NFL Combine. "They seemed really interested," Giacomini said.

Campen believes Giacomini will compete for the left and right tackle positions and possesses a "very high ability to learn, who has improved a lot technique-wise and punches well [in pass protection] and stays on his feet."

In Green Bay, Giacomini will reconnect with a pair of college teammates: quarterback Brian Brohm, the Packers' second-round selection (56th overall), along with third-year right guard Jason Spitz.

"Brian will be back there, it's kind of neat, everything happens for a reason, and I can learn a lot from Jason," said Giacomini. "I wish today were already Thursday [the start of minicamp], and I can get back to football."

Goff was waiting for a call at his mother's house in Peabody, "but I really wasn't watching [the draft], I had turned the TV off."

Until the Super Bowl champion Giants phoned with the news that they were going to take Goff with their fifth-round pick, the 165th selection overall.

"It was just awesome, there's no more waiting, I can go to New York and prove that I belong there," said the 6-4, 245-pound Goff, who has been working out and staying in shape since finishing up his degree in mechanical engineering in December. "The Giants were talking to my agent the last two days, telling him that they really liked me."

Goff had worked out for Bill Sheridan, the Giants' linebackers coach, at Vanderbilt's Pro Day, where the two also broke down film together.

Yesterday, Goff heard from the man who calls the shots for the Giants.

"Coach [Tom] Coughlin welcomed me to New York and said that I had a great opportunity," said Goff, who had a team-leading 113 tackles last season. "I love football, and I want to play it as long as I can, and I've been fortunate that I've been able to play it this long."

A tough, physical player with great instincts and awareness who was a two-time captain, Goff will join a Giants linebacking unit that includes Phillips Andover product Zak DeOssie and former Boston College star Mathias Kiwanuka.

Bentley senior guard MacKenzy Bernadeau made history, becoming the first player from the Division 2 program ever to be selected, chosen 250th overall by Carolina, the third-to-last player selected. The athletic 6-4, 310-pound Waltham High product will try to impress the Panthers and offensive line coach Dave Magazu, the former BC assistant.

"Let me get my chance, that was my mentality as the seventh round wound down," said Bernadeau. "Coach [John] Fox then called and said, 'We're going to pick you right now.'

"This means a lot . . . all my dreams came true. Being the first from [Bentley], it means a lot to my school and my family. But still, it's just a beginning.

University of Connecticut cornerback Tyvon Branch was the first player with New England connections taken on Day 2, going to the Raiders with the first pick of the fourth round, the 100th selection overall. The 5-11 1/2, 200-pound Branch offers lightning speed (the fastest corner clocked at the combine, 4.31 seconds in the 40) and versatility.

Branch made 31 career starts for the Huskies. As a senior he led the Big East in kickoff returns (28.9-yard average), taking two for touchdowns. His teammate, Donald Thomas, a 6-4, 290-pound guard who never played high school football and didn't start until his sophomore year at UConn, went to the Dolphins in the sixth round, with the 195th pick.

Three picks earlier, the Chargers selected Boston College corner DeJuan Tribble, whose production as a senior (four interceptions) did not quite match his monster junior season (seven interceptions, three touchdowns).

Record-setting New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos of Bellingham will sign a two-year free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to his agent, Brad Blank.