A busy Thursday for Buffalo's front office got a whole lot busier come the early evening hours as they came to terms with fourth-round pick Chris Hairston, sixth-round pick Chris White and seventh-round pick Justin Rogers. The signings came just hours after seventh-round pick Mike Jasper was the first Buffalo draft choice to sign.
Hairston, an offensive tackle from Clemson, is seen as a right tackle prospect by Buffalo's coaching staff.
"It's a great day to be a part of an organization like this, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity" Hairston told Buffalobills.com. "I'm ready to get to camp and just be a Bill."
Offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris liked what he saw on Hairston's college tape.
"Chris is a big, big man physically," D'Alessandris said. "We had great reports from his college coach down at Clemson. He has some very good skills. He's got good feet. I can see future development and growth with him. Now coming in to learn the system once he can learn the terminology he gives himself a chance to play."
Sixth-round pick Chris White is a prospect that was very familiar to Buffalo's defensive staff prior to the draft since he was on Chan Gailey's South Team roster at the Senior Bowl. Though Bills Assistant head/inside linebackers coach Dave Wannstedt did not make the trip, he reviewed the Senior Bowl week film and was impressed.
"Probably of all the linebackers that we evaluated he probably made the least amount of mistakes of anyone that I watched," he said. "I was very impressed with him. This guy does it all good. Where he will stack up physically against the other guys I don't know. We'll wait and see. The other coaches had him at the Senior Bowl and they just raved about his intangibles."
It was definitely exciting," said White shortly after signing his contract at One Bills Drive. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. I'm just ready to get out to training camp and try to learn the defense. I know the coaches and they all know me and that's definitely a good thing. I'm going to go out there and work hard."
Seventh-round pick Justin Rogers was a playmaker for Richmond with 11 career interceptions. He was also among the nation's leaders in kick return average during his time with the Spiders.
"It's a dream come true. This is everything I worked for and something I wanted to do. This was a goal of mine," said Rogers. "This is the first step. I've got the contract out of the way and now it's time to go to work."
Bills secondary coach George Catavolos believes Rogers could surprise in training camp.
"Justin Rogers is a very good technician. He's done an excellent job with his coverage skills. For a 180-pounder he won't shy away from anybody. I do think this young man has the make-up intelligence-wise and the physical skills that could be very beneficial for us this season."
The three signings leave five rookies from the 2011 draft class unsigned with the report date for training camp at St. John Fisher Friday.
