That evening, at his brother’s house in South Carolina, he got a pep talk from his brother, whose draft day was much different as the seventh-overall pick in 1988.
“Look, man, I know you’re disappointed,” Sterling recalled telling his brother. “… But hey, it doesn’t matter where you get drafted. All you want is a chance.”
Regardless, Shannon was stunned at the day’s turn of events.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Sharpe told ESPN’s Bill Williamson in 2008. “I was sitting on my bed all night, just shocked that I wasn’t picked yet. I didn’t know what was going on. I know I was from a little school, but I had big numbers. To this day, I’m still surprised I went so late.”
He wouldn’t have to wait long the next day, as the Broncos drafted him in the seventh round. When he returned from a morning workout, he received a call from Broncos scout Ron Hill, Williamson reported.
“He told me I was a Bronco,” Sharpe said. “I told him, he wouldn’t regret it and that I’d be a steal. I knew Denver was…