Ohio State coach Urban Meyer compared his team's first-round presence in the 2016 NFL Draft to "a three-hour infomercial for our program."
If the first round was an OSU infomercial, the entire draft was an OSU telethon.
It began with DE Joey Bosa and RB Ezekiel Elliott coming off the board in the first four picks of the draft, to the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, respectively. LB Darron Lee, OL Taylor Decker and CB Eli Apple were first-round choices as well, leaving OSU only one first-round pick shy of Miami's record of six in 2004. It ended with two fourth-round picks in QB Cardale Jones (Bills) and LB Joshua Perry (Chargers).
In between, history was made.
The Buckeyes' 12 draft choices in the first four rounds were a modern-era NFL record. Seven rounds weren't enough for the NFL to get its fill of the Buckeyes, however. Safety Tyvis Powell was one of several OSU players to sign as undrafted free agents. Powell signed with the Seattle Seahawks, WR Jalin Marshall with the New York Jets, and OL Chase Farris with the Detroit Lions.
It was heavily the result of an outpouring of nine underclassmen leaving Ohio State with NCAA eligibility still remaining, seven of which were selected (Powell and Marshall were not).
A look every school that had five players or more chosen in the draft (click school names to see players drafted from each):
Clemson wasn't too far behind OSU with nine draft picks, led by four defensive players chosen in the first two rounds: DE Shaq Lawson, DB T.J. Green, CB Mackensie Alexander and DE Kevin Dodd. Nine selections set a new Clemson record in the seven-round era of the draft. UCLA's eight selections, most of which came on Day 3 (Rounds 4-7), were also a school record.
Although Alabama was expected to have multiple first-round picks among several top-rated defensive players, the Crimson Tide had only one in C Ryan Kelly. Still, Kelly gave Alabama a first-round pick in eight consecutive drafts dating back to the Cincinnati Bengals' selection of OL Andre Smith in 2009. Meanwhile, the Florida Gators kept alive a remarkable streak of a different sort: UF hasn't been shut out of the draft in 63 years: at least one Gator has been drafted every year since 1953.
Of the nine schools that had five draftees each, the most impressive class was clearly that of Ole Miss, which produced three first-round picks for the first time in school history (Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell, Robert Nkemdiche). OT Fahn Cooper and WR Cody Core went in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively.
Then, there were the wallflowers of the draft party.
Some prominent college programs whose presence in the draft was limited, or non-existent:
The Volunteers absorbed a draft shutout for the first time since 1964 after DE Curt Maggitt and WR Marquez North went unselected. With head coach Butch Jones entering his fourth season in Knoxville, having recruited far better than his predecessor, current Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Derek Dooley, UT should be back in the draft with several picks in 2017.
FSU and Oregon, both college football powerhouses, each delivered a top-10 choice (Jalen Ramsey, DeForest Buckner) and not much else. The Seminoles' only other selection was PK Roberto Aguayo (second round) and Oregon's was LB Joe Walker, who was the third-to-last pick of the draft. Louisville, after a banner draft year in 2015 (10 selections) had only one pick in first-round choice Sheldon Rankins (Saints).
Finally, several schools from Group of Five and FCS conferences fared better in the draft than much bigger schools. Among them: North Dakota State (2 draftees), Houston (three draftees) and Louisiana Tech (three draftees) each produced one first-round choice (Carson Wentz, William Jackson III, Vernon Butler).
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