DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University wide receiver Kenny Golladay was selected in the third round of the 2017 National Football League Draft by the Detroit Lions Friday.
 
The 96th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Golladay became the 37th NIU player all-time chosen in the NFL Draft. A native of Chicago, he is the second NIU receiver to be drafted in the last three years and the first since Da'Ron Brown, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015.
 
A first-team All-MAC selection in 2016, Golladay led the Huskies in receiving with 1,156 yards and 87 catches to become the first player in school history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. His 2016 yardage total surpassed his 1,129 receiving yards in 2015. In just two seasons with the Huskies, the 6-4, 213-pound wide out finished his career ranked sixth all-time at NIU in catches (160), fifth in receiving (2,285) and tied for eighth (18) in touchdown catches.
 
Golladay, who transferred to NIU after two seasons at North Dakota, made quite an impression in his first game as a Huskie. The 2015 second-team All-MAC honoree amassed 213 yards on nine receptions in the 2015 season opener against UNLV at Huskie Stadium. He recorded a career-high 14 catches, tying for the second-highest single-game total in school history, against Toledo for 149 yards in the Chi-Town Showdown this past season.
 
The eighth NIU player selected in the NFL Draft since 2007, Golladay is the highest drafted Huskie since Jimmie Ward was chosen in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He's the first third-round pick for NIU since fellow Chicago native Garrett Wolfe was the 93rd overall selection by the Chicago Bears.
 
NIU opens the 2017 season on Friday, Sept. 1 when Boston College becomes the first ACC team to play in Huskie Stadium since 2003. Season tickets for all six 2017 NIU home football games are on sale NOW online at NIUHuskies.com or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225). Season tickets are an even greater value in 2017 with the addition of the new $199 Family Pack featuring four tickets in sections A or G and a new, lowered $60 price for season tickets on the East Side with general admission seating.  Reserved seats in sections A, B, F and G are now just $115 for the season, a cost of less than $20 per game.
 
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