First-round fireworks (Phillips, Rousseau) for Canes followed by silent Friday night

The Miami Hurricanes’ NFL Draft first-round daily double late Thursday was followed by Friday night’s silence.

Former Canes tight end Brevin Jordan and defensive end Quincy Roche were not drafted during Friday’s second and third rounds. The draft concludes Saturday after the seventh round.

Also waiting to learn his NFL destination was former UM kicker Jose Borregales, a consenus All-American and winner of the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college. If Borregales doesn’t get drafted, as is usually the case with placekickers, he will end up on a team as an undrafted free agent.

First-round Canes

The draft started with first-round fireworks for the Hurricanes, who had defensive end Jaelan Phillips going to the Miami Dolphins with Thursday’s No. 18 overall pick and fellow end Greg Rousseau heading to the Buffalo Bills with the No. 30 pick.

The Hurricanes joined Alabama, Florida, Northwestern, Penn State, Clemson and Virginia Tech as one of only seven college teams to send multiple players to the NFL in the initial round. The Crimson Tide, with six drafted in the first round, was the only program to have more than two — tying Miami’s 2004 first-round draft class of Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow II, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Vernon Carey and Vince Wilfork.

Phillips and Rousseau’s first-round coups marked the first time in 15 years that two defensive ends from the same school were drafted in the first round. In 2006, North Carolina State’s Mario Williams went No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans and Manny Lawson went 22nd overall to the San Francisco 49ers.

The last time two Hurricanes were picked in the first round was in 2015, when offensive lineman Ereck Flowers went ninth overall to the New York Giants and receiver Phillip Dorsett went 29th to the Indianapolis Colts.

Rousseau told the Miami Herald heading into the draft that “it would be amazing” should he and Phillips pull off the first-round coup. “It’s a blessing just to be drafted,’’ he said. “Whether Jaelan goes first or I go first, that’s our goal. UM really changed my life. That’s why opting out [in 2020] was so hard after everything the Canes did for me. Coach [Manny] Diaz and Coach [Mark] Richt believed in me even though I wasn’t a super highly rated recruit. Awesome experience.’’

Life-changing moment

“BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!” the 6-6 1/2, 266-pound Rousseau, 21, posted on Twitter about hearing his name called Thursday and being able to hug NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before they both held up the royal blue No. 1 Bills jersey.

According to the Bills’ roster Friday, Rousseau, who wore 15 at Miami, has been assigned No. 50.

“First and foremost, it’s a blessing that they believed in me,’’ Rousseau said during his introductory news conference. “I know they’re a really great team. They had a real far playoff stretch last year. ...I’m ready to come in and prove I’m there for a reason and earn the respect of my teammates and my coaches.”

When asked what he knows about Buffalo, Rousseau said he knows “there’s Niagra Falls there,’’ adding, “It pretty much borders Canada. I’m pretty sure there’s Lake Erie... My mom had my older brother in Buffalo so my parents lived in Buffalo for like I think five years, four years?”

He also knows about the Canes’ connections there, such as former Hurricanes and Bills quarterback great Jim Kelly and former UM linebacker great Dan Morgan, who serves as the Bills’ director of player personnel; and current offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and safety Jaquan Johnson.

Home sweet 305

As for the nearly 6-6, 260-pound Phillips, 21, he is heading back to Miami and his Hurricanes’ Hard Rock Stadium after leaving to go home to Redlands, California in Los Angeles.

“How cool is it to be drafted by a city that has already welcomed you?” Phillips was asked during a media videoconference after the draft. “Words can’t even describe how I feel right now,’’ Phillips replied. “It’s literally like an out-of-body experience. I’m just so grateful for Miami as a city. They embraced me when i came into the U and they’ve supported me for the last two years of my journey. So, there’s no place I’d rather be, man. Back to the 305.’’

Current Dolphins who played at Miami are center Tyler Gauthier and receiver Allen Hurns. As of Friday evening, Phillips didn’t have a number assigned per the team roster.