Michigan State football's Ameer Speed picked by Patriots in NFL draft Round 6
Ameer Speed spent one year with Michigan State football but trusted Mel Tucker and Harlon Barnett enough to leave national champion Georgia for East Lansing.
The move paid off.
The cornerback was selected by New England in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday with the No. 214 overall pick. He was the second Spartan taken in the sixth round by the Patriots, following punter Bryce Baringer, who went at pick No. 192.
"I've always felt like I was an NFL-talent player. I knew I could get to the NFL," Speed said on a conference call. "So to finally have a chance just to go out there and be a player, it was a blessing. I'm very thankful for it, because I was just waiting for my chance and my opportunity."
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Jacksonville, Florida, arrived at MSU as a graduate transfer in early 2022 after winning the 2021 national championship with the Bulldogs. In his only season with the Spartans, Speed started 11 of their 12 games at cornerback in the fall, finishing with 62 tackles and five pass breakups. He was third on the team at 737 snaps while also playing 87 snaps on special teams.
In 48 games as a four-year letterwinner at Georgia, Speed had 25 career tackles between 336 defensive snaps and 518 plays on special teams. He started three times during the Bulldogs’ national championship run, finishing the 2021 season with 13 tackles in his 181 defensive snaps and 201 special teams plays.
Tucker helped recruit Speed to Georgia while he was defensive coordinator with the Bulldogs. His decision out of high school came down to the Bulldogs and Florida State, where Barnett had gone to be defensive coordinator after he left MSU for two years before returning to his alma mater to join Tucker's staff in 2020 as secondary coach. Barnett also played for the Patriots after his college career with the Spartans.
"A lot of the decision the transfer to Michigan State, it had a lot to do with coach Tucker and coach Barnett. ... So the fact that those two guys were together, it felt like the perfect opportunity for me to come in and be able to help on special teams and defense," Speed said. "Just to have a chance to play DB and getting the opportunity to do that and be a player, I'm thankful for that and I'm very blessed to be where I am today."
Speed is the first MSU cornerback selected since Josiah Scott went to Jacksonville in the fourth round of the 2020 draft.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football's Ameer Speed to Patriots in NFL draft Round 6
