In this file photo, Demarcus Christmas smiles at an event with Coach Willie Taggart at the Mertz Theatre in Sarasota during a Florida State Seminole bus tour in 2018. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com
For the first time since 2013, a former Manatee High star was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
The Seattle Seahawks selected Demarcus Christmas, who started on Florida State’s defensive line, with the 209th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Christmas, a 6-4, 294-pound defensive tackle, was the first former Manatee High Hurricane to get selected in the NFL Draft since the Jacksonville Jaguars picked wide receiver Ace Sanders (South Carolina) in 2013.