Cleveland, OH. (PFCritics) -- Another first-rounder is in the books. The Oakland Raiders signed safety Michael Huff to a five-year deal worth $22.5 million. The signing occured just before the Raiders began their training camp started.

"This morning when everyone was out here I was just wishing I was out here," Huff said. "But I'm out here now."

Huff will be taking the place of Charles Woodson, who is not with the team anymore. Huff, the eigth overall pick, played for the Texas Longhorns in college and was a part of their championship winning team this past season. He is considered a safety, but can also play the cornerback position. He is the highest-rated player in the draft that plays in the secondary.

"He's a very athletic guy, a very smart guy, you can give him a couple of different things, and he picks them up very well," said Raiders head coach Art Shell. "We don't see it as a problem. He can play free safety, he can play strong safety, he can play corner. He can do all those things. That's a plus for us in the secondary."

Huff had been the leader of the Longhorns secondary the past few seasons. He is very athletic and is very versatile in playing the cornerback position just as well as the safety position. He rarely misses an assignment and is very quick when it comes to reading an offensive play. Huff tackles very well and has the instincts to blitz the quarterback at the right time as well as disguising it. His speed and experience at cornerback will allow him to match up well with a primary receiver if a cornerback gets burned or loses track of his assignment. He took several interceptions back for touchdowns in college and is always finding a way to get his hands on the football. The thing scouts like so much about Huff is that there is very little flaws in his gameplan, and that whoever selects him can swap him between two different positions if they so choose.

Huff is still trying to learn the NFL compared to college, but he knows that he'll be fine.

"I'm comfortable with that because there are a lot of great experienced guys ahead of me that I can learn from," Huff said. "So I'm going to go out there and learn and get better every day and be the best player I can be. Whenever it's my time to be on the field, that's where I'll be."

Huff is being depended on to improve the Raiders defense, which needs a defensive playmaker.