Nebraska Second Only to Texas in NFL Draft
3 comments so far
May 1, 2007 by
In the long term, it’s always best for a college program to send as many guys to the NFL as possible. High school recruits want to go to schools that send more guys to the pros. But in the short term it’s more in the eye of the beholder.
Take a look at how many players were drafted by each Big 12 school:
| School | # Picks |
|---|---|
| Texas | 7 |
| Nebraska | 4 |
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| Texas Tech | 3 |
| Kansas State | 3 |
| Oklahoma State | 2 |
| Baylor | 2 |
| Colorado | 2 |
| Iowa State | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 0 |
| Kansas | 0 |
Now Texas and Nebraska fans can take heart that their program produced the most pro talent this past season. But fans of a team like A&M might say, “Look at how many studs those guys lost, and we didn’t lose anybody that important”. In other words, they could see it as a sign that teams have lost talent off their roster.
Who’s to say who’s right in that case? Sometimes the losses hurt plenty (remember the Huskers losing Eric Crouch, Toniu Fonoti, and Keyou Craver in 2002?) Sometimes, you find good or better players behind great players (the Huskers lost 7 starters from the 1994 national championship team, only to field a better team in 1995).
Of course, it also means that fans divided between Solich and Callahan can also use this draft to make their point. “See! Solich brought in plenty of talent, he recruited Carriker and Moore and brought in Bradley!” or “See! Callahan can develop players he made Carriker a first rounder and turned a walk-on in Bradley into a first day draft pick! He made Brandon Jackson a second rounder too!”
So I don’t know exactly what to make of the numbers above, but since I’m a fan for the long term, I’m happy to see Nebraska near the top of the list. I hope the Huskers haven’t lost too much to graduation, but I want to see Nebraska continue to be well-represented in the NFL. And hey, isn’t it nice to see an I-back get drafted again!
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Darren May 01 07
Steve, interesting post.
The Draft is a pretty darn good indicator of overall roster talent, because the NFL folks really scout things very hard. zHaving players drafted is on some level a sign of a healthy program, regardless of coach.
Of course the draft is also non-linier because kids from Hampton get drafted, or Hawaii has 5 kids drafted, etc. And scouts take non-football drills too far (running 40 yards in a straight line, throwing a ball 70+ yards in the air, etc).
So, the number of players drafted clearly means *something*, but maybe not everything.
Eric May 01 07
FYI- Boise State had 4 drafted
As a Husker fan in Boise the red should be putting at least 6-8 every year.
Its great to see Boise State rise but lets go big red......
Gregory May 07 07
Brandon going in the 2nd round, impresses me.
Pretty obvious, since he didn't have that great of a year, that Callahan's system produces well schooled and ready RB's. With Cory and now Brandon, he's "two for two" in that regard.