Raiders pick up heralded safety
05/01/2006

ALAMEDA - The Raiders now have the two best safeties from the two best college football teams in 2005.
Strong safety Darnell Bing of USC was the Raiders' fourth-round selection Sunday, the second day of the draft.

After using their first-round selection on Texas safety Michael Huff, the Raiders picked another player to help pass coverage.
Bing and Huff played against each other in the national championship game in the Rose Bowl, won by Texas. The Raiders hope the pairing eventually will slow the likes of tight ends Tony Gonzalez of Kansas City and Antonio Gates of San Diego.

Oakland plans to use Bing, a 6-foot-2, 227-pound Associated Press All-American from USC, at linebacker. Bing said adding 10 pounds to play the position won't be a problem.

"I've been basically playing strong safety all my life," Bing said via telephone. "It's just the opposite of a weak-side linebacker. I think I can handle the position pretty good."

Bing, the 101st player selected overall, was projected to go as high as the first round by some draft pundits, but questions about whether he was a safety or a linebacker hurt his stock.

Coach Art Shell said Bing's athleticism translates well to linebacker, especially with his ability to run and cover space in passing situations.

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