Joel Klatt doesn't see the Ohio State Buckeyes' ability to produce top NFL draft prospects slowing down anytime soon in College Football's NIL/rev-share era under head coach Ryan Day. Klatt was in awe of the 25 prospects the Ohio State University just sent to pro football's highest league over the past two offseasons.
Per Klatt on his podcast, "Right now, the draft factory, the NFL draft factory of college football, is Ohio State ... In the last two drafts, obviously, they've got a national championship in there, but they've gotten eight players drafted in the first round. Eight! They've got 14 players drafted in the first two rounds in the last two drafts, and 25 total players drafted in the last two drafts. That's wild. That's staggering. In fact, that's tied for the most players ever for one school to be drafted in back-to-back drafts. So right now, the school churning out the most talent, the factory for the National Football League, lives in Columbus, Ohio. And by the way, it's not going to stop."
Klatt is on target. By no means does it seem that Day's days of creating pros are ending. Brian Hartline left him with another elite receiver recruit, Chris Henry Jr., in the same vein as Jeremiah Smith, who may be the first or second pick in the 2027 NFL draft. The offensive line could be sending a handful of players to the NFL next April, while the defensive front was replenished with high-end transfers who could quickly build value in the Scarlet and Gray spotlight.
Ohio State football buoying the Big Ten's reputation in the NFL draft
When you look at the B1G picture, if you will, the Buckeyes are one of the only programs producing NFL talent en masse. The Indiana Hoosiers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, Iowa Hawkeyes, and TTUN all also had more than five picks. That's half the conference producing the bulk of the 68 players picked from the Big Ten.
That parity is better than conferences like the ACC and Big 12, which were carried by the Clemson Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, respectively.
Still, there are haves and have-nots in College Football, and luckily for Ohioans, Ohio State will always have.
Add us as a preferred source on Google