Jeff Hatch, an offensive tackle on the Penn football team, was picked in the third round of the NFL Draft by the New York Giants on Saturday.
Hatch, the 78th selection overall, becomes the highest-picked player from Penn taken since 1998, when Mitch Marrow was drafted by the Carolina with the 73rd selection.
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound lineman was a named a Division I-AA All- American this season by the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press.
He was a three-year letterwinner for the Quakers, helping Penn to Division I-AA's top passing attack and the Ivy League championship with a 6-1 record in the league in 2000.
This year, the Quakers finished second in the Ancient Eight with a 6-1 record, with an 8-1 mark overall.
Hatch is the first player from Penn selected since 1999, when Jim Finn was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the final pick in the NFL Draft, earning him the title "Mr. Irrelevant." Finn is currently the starting fullback for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Ancient Eight has now had 12 players picked in the first three rounds of the draft since the official formation of the Ivy League in 1956. In 1949, Penn's Chuck Bednarik was selected first overall in the draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Saturday, the Giants also selected Jeremy Shockey, a tight end from national-champion Miami, and Tim Carter, a wide receiver from Auburn.
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