He's a smart kid. You can tell he understands the passing game. Playing in the passing lanes, he's extremely productive there. – Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis on Nick Vigil
A pair of former Aggie linebackers went back-to-back in the third round of the NFL draft Friday night.
Just moments after Utah State's Nick Vigil was selected with the 87th overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, his former teammate Kyler Fackrell was taken with the 88th pick by the Green Bay Packers.
Vigil, who made himself eligible for the draft following a huge junior season, hopes to become the second son of Plain City's Jamie and Kayla Vigil to make an NFL roster. Vigil's brother, Zach, signed with the Miami Dolphins as a free agent in 2015 after a standout career at Utah State, and the older Vigil saw action in all 16 games last season, primarily on the Dolphins' special teams squad.
Miami is scheduled to play at Cincinnati on Sept. 29 in a Thursday night game slated to be broadcast on the NFL Network.
"He's a smart kid," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said of Nick Vigil during a press conference Friday night. "You can tell he understands the passing game. Playing in the passing lanes, he's extremely productive there.
"He's a good fit for us. He brings speed and playmaking on special teams, and all of the things you want in a young linebacker as he comes into the National Football League. So, I feel really good and fortunate with him."
A first-team All-Mountain West selection in 2014 and ’15, Nick Vigil led the conference and finished sixth in the nation overall in total tackles last season with 144. The former Fremont High School standout also totaled 13.5 tackles for loss in 2015 and added four quarterback hurries.
Playing alongside his older brother, Vigil racked up 123 total tackles in 2014 and 57 in 2013. Vigil, who also started one game at running back and totaled 169 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carries during his collegiate career, redshirted during the 2012 season.
Vigil is the highest drafted Aggie since former USU linebacker Bobby Wagner was selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft with the 47th overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks.
While most mock drafts had Vigil slated to go in the fifth to seventh round, Fackrell had been listed as high as the second round before being selected deep into the third round.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder out of Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona, put together a strong senior campaign after missing nearly all of the 2014 season. Fackrell suffered a torn ACL in the second quarter of Utah State's season-opening loss at Tennessee, keeping him out of action until last fall.
"We like him a lot," Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson said of Fackrell on the Packers' website. "He's played good ball there in the past. He's had some trouble with a knee injury that held him back for some time. But we think that's all in the past, and his future is good."
Now 24 years old, Fackrell was a Mountain West First-Team selection in 2015 after leading the nation with five fumble recoveries and a team-high 15.0 tackles for loss. The outside linebacker was also second for the Aggies with 4.0 sacks, finished with 82 total tackles and set a single-season school record with a dozen quarterback hurries, including a USU single-game record of six against Colorado State.
Fackrell started all 14 games as a sophomore, totaling 13.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and 82 total tackles. He also started all 13 of USU's games as a freshman, earning first-team All-WAC honors after compiling 87 total tackles, including 8.0 tackles for loss.
Fackrell, who redshirted at USU during the 2011 season, graduated in December with a degree in business administration. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are the parents of a 15-month-old daughter named Delaney.