Ohio State Football: Buckeyes will pass Trojans tonight in an important stat
After tonight the Ohio State football program will take the lead with the most first round NFL draft picks, breaking a tie with USC.
The two programs have 81 first round draft picks each, 12 better than second-place Notre Dame. In recent years, only Alabama has matched Ohio State with 31 first round draft picks since 2000 (tied with Ohio State).
Two players (Chase Young and Jeffrey Okudah) are locks to be taken in the first round, and if J.K. Dobbins can sneak into the first 32 picks, the Buckeyes will gain a sizable advantage over the Trojans, who are unlikely to have a player selected in the first round.
As members of the 2017 Ohio State recruiting class, all three of the potential first rounders were true freshman on the team that defeated USC 24-7 in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Although Dobbins was the only starter of the three on the 2017 team, Young and Okudah contributed as back-ups on the way to becoming starters the next two seasons.
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Now, Young, Okudah and Dobbins have a chance to bookend their Ohio State careers by achieving something that will put Ohio State at the forefront of being the best at producing NFL talent.
With 131 draft picks just since 2000, the Buckeyes will also hold on to the lead over the Crimson Tide, who have had 118 players drafted this century.
Alabama may take the lead for most first round draft picks since 2000, but Ohio State will hold the all-time record. And the Buckeyes will prove to the world once again that throughout the years of the NFL Draft, they have produced some of the best talent to make it to the NFL.
Next. Former three-star recruits will soon earn paychecks. dark
Some statistics in college football can be throwaway statistics, but Ohio State passing USC in most all-time first round draft picks can’t be ignored. And it is something head coach Ryan Day can show to recruits as he continues to build on an historic 2021 class, and the future of Buckeye football.