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Martin T. Rucker is hugged by his mother, LaVell, after receiving notice that he would be drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Rucker was picked 111th, on Sunday afternoon.

Martin T. Rucker gets his chance at the NFL now.

Rucker was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Sunday as the 11th player taken. His selection came shortly before 11:30 a.m. CDT.

“It feels good. I feel relieved,” he said moments later. “They have a really good offense. They have a lot of weapons.”

He said his next focus will be preparing to participate in the Browns’ minicamp that’s scheduled for Thursday.

The University of Missouri tight end and Benton High School graduate led all tight ends in the nation this year with 84 catches. He was named a first-team All-American, Mizzou’s first since Kellen Winslow in 1978. Rucker also had 203 career receptions, breaking Mizzou’s career mark of 200. Rucker had 2,174 career receiving yards and 18 career touchdowns.

He expressed gratitude for the success he achieved as a Missouri Tiger.

“I just can’t thank Mizzou enough, giving me a chance to shine on the field,” Rucker said. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for the University of Missouri.”

Rucker’s leadership as a team captain and hard-working senior proved important in 2007 as the Tigers put together their best season in generations, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said when he visited St. Joseph last week.

The Tigers finished 12-2 and won the Cotton Bowl. They also beat the University of Kansas in a showdown of the two top-ranked teams at Arrowhead Stadium in the last game of the regular season, yet another highlight in Rucker’s collegiate career.

The lithe and athletic tight end said he still has one thing to prove in the NFL. Some scouts questioned his blocking skills, a concern at least partially attributable to Missouri’s wide-open, spread offense.

“Not the fact that I can’t block, it’s the end-line hand-on-the-ground thing,” Rucker said. “I was split out so much that everybody wonders, ‘Can he do it?’ Or, ‘Will he do it?’ And my answer to that is ‘Definitely.’ I can’t wait to show everybody that I can.”

Rucker is the younger brother of Mike Rucker, another Benton standout who starred at the University of Nebraska and then spent nine years playing for the Carolina Panthers. Mike Rucker played in the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl before retiring last week.

“I’ve been around nine years, and I’ve seen competition. I’ve seen the best, and I’ve seen guys who are just there,” Mike Rucker said. “(Martin’s) got the tools. He’s got the mindset to do it. That’s the biggest part, the mindset, and he’s got it. He’ll grow, get bigger and get more knowledge of the game.”

Rucker — joined by family and friends at his parents’ St. Joseph home — watched ESPN draft coverage as Browns’ Senior Vice President and General Manager Phil Savage discussed his potential on the offense.

The team’s 2008 schedule includes three dates on Monday Night Football.