UVA junior defensive end Eli Harold (Virginia Beach, Va.) was selected by the San Francisco 49ers during Friday’s third round of the National Football League Draft. Harold was the 79th overall pick. It marks the 32nd consecutive year (dating back to 1984) a Virginia player has been drafted. The streak is tied for the second longest in the ACC.
Harold is the first Cavalier drafted by the San Francisco 49ers since 2012 when defensive end Cam Johnson was taken in the seventh round. Harold is the fifth overall Cavalier to be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
Harold, a NFL Combine participant, started all 12 games at defensive end as a junior and finished his UVa career with 25 career starts over three seasons. Harold, an All-ACC second-team performer in 2014 finishes his UVa career No. 10 all-time in program history with 36.5 tackles for loss and No. 11 all-time in the school annals with 17.5 career sacks. Finished 2014 No. 3 in the ACC with 14.5 tackles for loss and No. 6 with 7.0 sacks.
Harold was a key part of a defense that helped limit the nation’s No. 7 rusher (Pitt’s James Conner) and its No. 9 rusher (Miami’s Duke Johnson) under 100 yards rushing. UVa held Johnson to his lowest output of the season and Conner to his second-lowest rushing total.
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