NEW YORK -- George Rogers and Lawrence Taylor, the offensive and defensive pride of the Carolinas, as expected were the first two players selected in the National Football League Tuesday before clubs opened up their 'California Connection' for talent.
The New Orleans Saints selected Rogers, the Heisman Trophy winner from South Carolina, to open the draft and the New York Giants followed by taking Taylor, the rugged linebacker from North Carolina.
The Saints gained the first pick by finishing with the worst record in the league (1-15) last year and grabbed off the 6-foot-2, 220-pound tailback who led the nation in rushing last season.
Rogers carried 297 times last year, gaining 1,781 yards and averaging six yards a carry. His 161.9 yard average per game was the best in the nation.
'I can't turn around the team by myself,' said Rogers, who appeared at the draft headquarters with a Saints helmet. 'I play with the team and I can only do what the team does. Sure, there will be pressure but I can only do as good as I can do.'
'Bum (Houston Coach Bum Phillips) impressed me with the way he coached Earl Campbell at Houston. He's a real nice guy and I don't mind playing for him. I'm not Earl but I'm versatile. I can catch the ball, too. It will be a change for me to catch and run with the ball. I'm the No. 1 pick and I want to be the No. 1 back. I don't want to live up to anybody's expectations but my own.'
The Giants, with the second choice, grabbed Taylor, a 6-3, 243-pounder. Taylor, who has the rare combination of great size and speed, was named Player of the Year last year in the Atlantic Coast Conference as he led North Carolina to an 11-1 record.
'I'm going to try to bring the New York people something they deserve -- a winner,' said Taylor. 'I really prefer outside linebacker -- I feel at home there-- but if (Giants Coach) Ray Perkins wants me on the inside, I don't mind. The main thing is making a contribution to the team -- if he puts me at quarterback I would be happy.
'I want to be the best player I can be and make All-Pro. My best point is my hitting and I guess my weakest point will be covering backs out of the backfield.'
Then the rush for California gold rush began as eight players from California colleges went in the first round. The clubs completed the first six rounds Tuesday and will make the final six rounds of selections on Wednesday.
The New York Jets chose Freeman McNeil, a running back from UCLA, and Seattle took his teammate, defensive back Kenny Easley. St. Louis elected to bypass Pittsburgh star Hugh Green and took another linebacker, E.J. Junior of Alabama, and Green Bay surprised by taking California's Rich Campbell, the only quarterback to go in the first round.
Packer Coach Bart Starr has only one year left on his contract and seems to have little time to develop a pro quarterback.
Tampa Bay picked Green, the runnerup to Rogers in the Heisman balloting, and San Francisco went to the California gold mine again, taking Southern California defensive back Ronnie Lott. Los Angeles, which dealt disgruntled linebacker Bob Brudzinski to Miami earlier in the day, used a pick obtained from Washington to take Michigan linebacker Mel Owens.
Cincinnati took David Verser, a wide receiver from Kansas, Chicago went to the California stockpile by taking Keith Van Horne, a tackle from Southern California, and Baltimore took Pittsburgh fullback Randy McMillan.
Miami named Oklahoma running back David Overstreet, Kansas City picked tight end Willie Scott, Rogers' teammate at South Carolina, Denver took a third Southern California player, defensive back Dennis Smith, and Detroit also went for a California player, wide receiver Mark Nichols of San Jose State.
Pittsburgh, looking to rebuild its aging 'Steel Curtain' defense, took Oklahoma defensive end Keith Gary, Baltimore, which made a late trade with Minnesota for draft choices, chose North Carolina defensive tackle Donnell Thompson and New England went right back to the California connection, taking Stanford tackle Brian Holloway.
Washington, on a choice from Los Angeles, took Pittsburgh tackle Mark May and Oakland, on a choice from Houston, named Texas Tech safety Ted Watts. Cleveland, looking to help the worst pass defense in the NFL, took Hanford Dixon, a defensive back from Southern Mississippi.
Oakland swapped first round picks with Buffalo and the Raiders took tackle Curt Marsh of Washington. San Diego, already featuring the top offense in pro football, added another weapon in James Brooks, the most productive runner in Auburn's history. Atlanta took defensive back Bobby Butler of Florida State.
Dallas named Howard Richards, a tackle from Missouri, Philadelphia took Leonard Mitchell, a 6-7 defensive end from Houston, and Buffalo, using the pick from Oakland, ended the first round by taking Penn State running back Booker Moore.
The big surprise on the first round was the failure of any of the clubs to select Neil Lomax, the record-smashing quarterback from Portland State who last year helped produce 105 points in a victory over Delaware State. Lomax finally went to St. Louis as the fifth player on the second round.
In another trade, Baltimore dealt veteran running back Joe Washington, who lost his job to rookie Curtis Dickey last season, to the Washington Redskins for draft picks.
There were six defensive backs and six running backs taken in the first round, five offensive linemen and four linebackers to lead the selections. Southern California and Pittsburgh each had three players selected on the opening round.
Pittsburgh was the overall college leader on the first day with 11 players taken. North Carolina and Ohio State had five players each taken.
Defensive back was the most popular position with 27 taken, followed by linebacker (23) and running back and wide receivers (20 each).
The Pacific 10 was the leading conference with 20 players chosen, followed by the Big Eight and the Southeastern with 18 each.
On the second round, Cincinnati selected wide receiver Cris Collingsworth of Florida, Chicago took Missouri defensive back Eric Wright and Minnesota picked Nebraska running back Jarvis Redwine.
Chicago took Stanford wide receiver Ken Margerum on the third round and on the same round, Atlanta selected safety Scott Woerner of national champion Georgia.
On the fourth round, Cleveland selected Arizona defensive end Mike Robinson, Denver selected Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann, San Diego named North Carolina running back Amos Lawrence and Atlanta chose Notre Dame center John Scully.
Oklahoma guard Louis Oubre went to New Orleans and Pittsburgh tight end Benjie Pryor went to Cincinnati on the fifth round and on the sixth and final round of Tuesday's selections, name players selected were Georgia kicker Rex Robinson by Cincinnati, Florida State defensive tackle Ron Simmons by Cleveland and Arkansas wide receiver Bobby Duckworth by San Diego.
