It was a big day for the boys from down south up at Radio City Music Hall in New York City where the NFL held their annual draft ceremonies. This was the day that college football players all across the country have been dreaming about for most of their lives. This was the day that a player could make the leap from being a college student to a highly paid professional athlete with one swipe of the pen.
Over the weeks preceding the actual draft event, there was much speculation over which teams would pick which players for which reasons. As it turned out, very few of the mock drafts even came close. The most talked about players, Geno Smith and Manti Te’o, didn’t even go until the second round.
Linemen were the order of the day. Big, beefy guys. Quarterback rushers and quarterback protectors. For awhile there the average draftee was weighing in at around 300 pounds. Outside of and a couple of safeties and quarterback E.J. Manuel, who went to the Bills, only linemen were chosen in the first round.
When it was all over, about one in four draftees for the NFL were taken from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). That should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed college football for the past few years. Look who has won the national championship for the past nine years in a row.
LSU and Alabama each sent 9 players to the NFL this year during the draft. LSU had an additional 6 guys go right after the official draft ceremonies closed as free agents. Florida & Georgia both contributed 8 guys apiece.
At one point Alabama had three players in a row selected in the first round starting with pick #9, Cornerback Dee Milliner who went to the Jets, #10, Offensive Guard Chance Warmack who will play for Tennessee and #11, Offensive Tackle D.J. Fluker who was drafted by the Chargers.
OLB Barkevious Mingo of LSU went to the Browns as the number 6 pick and his teammate Eric Reid, an All-American Free Safety will play for the 49ers.
12 of the 32 players picked in the first round came from SEC teams. Eight SEC guys went in the second round and 11 in the third. When it was all over, 63 of the 254 players drafted came from the Southeastern Conference which shattered the old record of 55 set by the Pac-10 back in 1983.
As the saying goes, SEC Rules!
