Carlson goes to Seattle, Laws to Philadelphia

Former Notre Dame tight end John Carlson was selected Saturday by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the NFL Draft. Carlson was taken with the 38th pick overall and was the first Irish player to be taken in this year's draft.

"I know very little about the Seahawks and what they do there," Carlson acknowledged. "I'm just excited to get in there Thursday and start learning."

Carlson becomes the second Notre Dame tight end drafted in the last three years (Anthony Fasano, Dallas, 2006) and the earliest Irish tight end taken since Irv Smith was selected with the 20th pick in the 1993 draft by New Orleans. Carlson becomes the first Notre Dame player drafted by Seattle since quarterback Rick Mirer in 1993 (first round, second selection overall) and joins former Notre Dame running back Julius Jones with the Seahawks.

Carlson is one of the most prolific receiving tight ends in Notre Dame history recording career totals of 100 receptions, 1,093 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. His 100 catches are the second-most ever by an Irish tight end while his receiving yards total ranks third all-time at Notre Dame.

Former Notre Dame defensive lineman Trevor Laws was selected Saturday by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round with the 47th pick overall. Laws was the second Irish player to be taken in this year's NFL Draft.

"I'm just beaming right now," Laws said. "It's a surprise. It's a big surprise, but I'm real thrilled about it."

Laws becomes the second Notre Dame defensive tackle drafted in the last two years (Derek Landri, Jacksonville) and the earliest Irish defensive tackle taken since Bryant Young was selected with the seventh pick in the 1994 draft by San Francisco. Laws joins former teammate Victor Abiamiri on the Eagles defensive line. Abiamiri was also drafted in the second round by Philadelphia (57th overall pick in 2007).

Laws was one of the most productive and versatile defensive linemen in Notre Dame history recording career totals of 224 tackles, 10 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and six blocked kicks. Since Notre Dame began keeping tackle stats in 1956, Laws ranks sixth in career tackles by a defensive lineman and became only the second Irish defensive lineman since 1981 to eclipse 200 tackles during his career (Chris Zorich, 219, 1988-90).