University of South Carolina All-American linebacker Eric Norwood has been selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2010 National Football League draft. Norwood was the 26th selection in the fourth round and the 124th player taken overall.

Norwood, who measured in at six-foot and five-eighths inches and 241 pounds at South Carolina’s Pro Timing Day on March 31, was a 2009 first-team All-American as selected by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press. He was a first-team All-SEC selection for three consecutive years, the first player in school history to earn that distinction. Selected to play in the Senior Bowl and invited to the NFL Combine, Norwood concluded his career in the Garnet & Black as the school’s all-time leader in both sacks (29.0) and tackles for loss (54.5). He was a finalist for the Butkus Award and a semifinalist for the Lott, Bednarik and Lombardi Awards.

Norwood is the third Gamecock selected by the Panthers in the history of the draft. Carolina used a third round pick in 2004 to select offensive tackle Travelle Wharton and used a seventh round pick in the 2009 draft to select cornerback Captain Munnerlyn.

The Cleveland Browns selected South Carolina defensive end Clifton Geathers in the sixth round. Geathers, a 6-7 ½, 297-pounder who played three seasons for the Gamecocks, was the 17th player selected in the sixth round, the 186th player taken overall.

Geathers, who had one year of eligibility remaining, played in 36 of 38 games over the past three seasons, making nine starts. He was credited with 72 total tackles, including 41 in the 2009 campaign, with six sacks.

Geathers comes from an NFL family. He is the younger brother of Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive end Robert Geathers Jr. and is the nephew of former All-Pro defensive lineman Jumpy Geathers.

Geathers is the first Gamecock taken by Cleveland since linebacker Gerald Dixon was selected in the third round of the 1992 draft.