They are among the elite.
Two Cornell senior football players were among the 240 college players selected in Sunday's National Football League draft in New York City.
Seth Payne, a first team All-Ivy League defensive lineman, was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round with the 114th pick overall. And Chad Levitt, a standout fullback and the 1996 Ivy League Player of the Year, was taken by the Oakland Raiders, also in the fourth round, with the 123rd pick.
"It's definitely a dream come true," Payne told The Ithaca Journal Sunday. And Levitt told the Journal, "It's absolutely been a dream and a goal of mine. It's a great feeling."
Both Payne and Levitt will open their NFL careers when their teams start mini-camps on May 1.