Former Hancock Star Artis-Payne Eagerly Awaits NFL Draft

The big week has finally arrived for former Allan Hancock College star running back Cameron Artis-Payne. Hancock's all-time leading rusher could earn a chance to continue his football career in the pros.  The NFL Draft runs Thursday through Saturday, April 30-May 2, this year from Chicago.

After two stellar years at Hancock, Artis-Payne transferred to Auburn.  Last year, he led the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 1,608 yards, averaging a conference-best 123.7 yards per game. The former Bulldog's season total on the ground last season ranks third in Auburn history. Artis-Payne was also named the team's offensive MVP. He also rushed for 610 yards as a junior.

"It's getting down to crunch time," said Artis-Payne on Auburn's official athletic website. "I want to go as high as I possibly can, but the main thing is to be on an NFL roster. The realization is just now hitting me. In the next few days, I have the opportunities to make dreams come true."

The dreams started at Hancock where Artis-Payne rushed for a total of 3,412 career yards and scored 43 touchdowns. He was an All-American his sophomore season when he rushed for a total of 2,048 yards and 25 touchdowns. He owns the program records in all four of those categories.

Artis-Payne has been projected to go anywhere from the third to fifth rounds. The first round takes place on Thursday, rounds two and three will be on Friday, and the final four rounds will happen on Saturday.

"I try not to read anything. I think I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the outside information to a minimum," he said. "You may go exactly where they have you projected, but sometimes you might go later, sometimes you might go earlier. I'll just see when that time comes."