Eagles Sign Abiamiri and Ilaoa to 4 Year Deals

The Philadelphia Eagles signed on 2 of the 3 remaining draft picks yesterday to 4 year deals.  Running back Nate "Nasti Nate" Ilaoa and defensive end Victor Abiamiri agreed to terms on their four-year deals on Sunday.   The only remaining draft pick the Eagles haven't signed is the first draft pick - quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Abiamiri, who hails from Notre Dame, was the second of the Eagles' two second-round picks in April's draft. Standing 6-foot-4, and 267-pound he racked up 10.5 sacks last season, the second-highest single-season total in the Notre Dame's history.

The Eagles are hoping to have a strong rotation at defensive end this season, since Jevon (The Freak) Kearse is returning after missing most of last season with his knee injury (this Eagles Chick is VERY happy to see Kearse back in the lineup).  Also in the lineup is, third-year man Trent Cole who will battle Darren Howard, for the starting right end spot. The Eagles re-signed Juqua Thomas who had a career high six sacks last season and also have former first-round pick Jerome McDougle.

Ilaoa, who the Eagles chose in the seventh-round of the 2007 draft come from Hawaii,  He's one of two running backs selected along with Tony Hunt from Penn State was drafted in the third round.

Ilaoa stands 5-foot-9, 245-pound and earned All-WAC honors as a senior rushing for 990 yards and scoring 18 total touchdowns (13 rushing, 5 receiving).   This guy is seen as important to the Eagles offense because of his great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and since the Eagles often uses the running back in the passing game, you can get the feeling how this guy is going to fit in with Westbrook Hunt, Moats and Buckhalter.  While at Hawaii, Ilaoa set a single-season school record for a running back with 67 receptions and 837 receiving yards.

This does leave the Eagles with a similar situation with the quarterbacks, only now the Eagles have five running backs on the roster - Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats, Hunt and Ilaoa.  At 245 pounds, Ilaoa is the biggest running back on the team's roster. Four running backs were kept on the original 53-man roster last season at the end of training camp, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out for all the players.

Ilaoa got the nickname "Nasti" for his style of running.  He also put up impressive numbers while at Hawaii:

• Ranked 12th in Division I-A with 139.5 all-purpose yards per game in 2006
• All-purpose yardage total (1,827) was the third best single-season total in Hawaii's history
• Hawaii's all-time leader among running backs in receptions (151) and receiving yards (1,694)
• Hawaii's fourth in all-purpose yards (3,383)
• Hawaii's fifth in rushing touchdowns (20)
• Two-time all-state, all-region, all-area, all-district and all-league selection at North Stafford High School in Stafford, Va.