Alshon to the Bears

South Carolina junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was drafted No. 45 overall by the Chicago Bears Friday night in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

South Carolina junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was selected with the 13th pick of the second round of the NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, the 45th player taken overall, on Friday night.

Jeffery, a 6-3, 213-pounder from St. Matthews, S.C., was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in 2010 while earning first team All-America honors from AFCA, FWAA, Phil Steele and ESPN.com. He was also a second team All-American according to Walter Camp, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and CollegeFootballNews.com after setting the single-season school records in both receptions (88) and receiving yards (1,517). The MVP of the 2012 Capital One Bowl, Jeffery is the school’s all-time leader in career receiving yards with 3,042, the second-highest mark in SEC history. He also has the most 100-yard receiving games at Carolina (12) and is tied with Sidney Rice for the school record with 23 touchdown catches. A team captain in 2011, Jeffery ranks second in career receptions with 183, behind only Kenny McKinley.

Jeffery’s selection gave the Gamecocks three players selected among the first 45 players taken in the 2012 NFL Draft. On Thursday, junior cornerback Stephon Gilmore was selected with the 10th pick of the first round by the Buffalo Bills, while senior defensive end/outside linebacker Melvin Ingram was taken with the 18th pick in the first round by the San Diego Chargers.