No Penn State football players were selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but Day 2 should be more promising.
For the sixth straight year, the first round of the NFL Draft failed to see any player from Penn State hear his name called by the commissioner. Penn State’s last first-round draft pick was Jared Odrick in 2010. The ongoing first-round drought is now the longest in program history during the Super Bowl era. But Friday will be a new day, and there are a handful of Nittany Lions that could hear their name called in the second or third round before getting to Saturday to wrap up this year’s draft.
Penn State has now gone six years without a first-round draft pick, its longest stretch of the Super Bowl era and longest since 1940-1955.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) April 29, 2016
Optimum Scouting has a list of the top 200 players left on the board after the first round, although it should be noted quarterbacks are intentionally left off this list. So you will not see Christian Hackenberg or other Big Ten quarterbacks like Connor Cook of Michigan State or Cardale Jones of Ohio State. Among those listed are defensive tackle Austin Johnson, defensive end Carl Nassib, defensive tackle Anthony Zettel and safety Jordan Lucas. Optimum Scouting gives Johnson and Nassib a fourth-round draft grade, which suggests they may be fringe candidates to be drafted in the second or third rounds Friday night. Zettel and Lucas were given sixth-round grades, making them more likely to be called on Saturday in the final four rounds of the draft, if at all. For what it is worth, Optimum Scouting previously gave Hackenberg a second-round draft grade.
It was not expected any Penn State players would be drafted in the first round Thursday night, so there was no real shock with the unfolding of the otherwise fascinating night. With two quarterbacks going in the first two picks (Cal’s Jared Goff to Los Angeles Rams and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz going to the Philadelphia Eagles) it looked like there might be a very slight chance Hackenberg could wiggle into the late first round picks. Only one other quarterback was chosen in the first round with Paxton Lynch of Memphis going to the Denver Broncos. Denver moved up to draft Lynch with the 26th overall pick. With Denver passing on Hackenberg, there was only one other reach that could have been a possibility. That was the Arizona Cardinals, who drafted Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche with the 29th pick. Green Bay, San Francisco, Carolina and Seattle were not going to draft a quarterback on Thursday. Maybe keep an eye on Arizona later on though.
Bill O’Brien finally gets Will Fuller
You had to have a little bit of a grin on your face when the Houston Texans swapped picks with Washington to move up one spot and draft Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller. Fuller was one of the early recruits landed by Bill O’Brien in O’Brien’s Class of 2013. It was a commitment that lasted just about two months. Soon after the NCAA dropped the hammer on Penn State with crippling sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal details in the Louis Freeh Report, Fuller was one of the targets or recruits that dropped Penn State and looked elsewhere. Notre Dame extended an offer soon after Penn State was given its sanctions and he later flipped his commitment to the Irish after making an official visit to South Bend.
Fuller got away from O’Brien once, but O’Brien finally found a way to lock him in to his offense.
Ohio State carries Big Ten in Round 1
The Ohio State Buckeyes were prepared for a big night with more NFL Draft invitees than any other school. Five Ohio State players were drafted in the first round of the draft, including Joey Bosa going No. 3 and Ezekiel Elliot and his crop top dress shirt going one pick later to the Dallas Cowboys. The SEC ended the night with more draft picks than any other conference with eight players, but the Big Ten finished the night with six players. In addition to Ohio State’s Bosa, Elliott, Eli Apple (New York Giants), Taylor Decker (Detroit Lions) and Darron Lee (New York Jets), Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin made it six players for the Big Ten.
Big Ten QB Drought Continues
21 years and counting since last Big Ten QB was drafted in the first round. Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson turned out OK though.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) April 29, 2016
The last Big Ten quarterback to go in the first round remains Penn State’s Kerry Collins, in 1995. With Hackenberg, Cook and Jones all missing the first round cut, the Big Ten’s remarkable first-round QB drought reaches a legal drinking age at 21 years and counting. For a conference that has produced Super Bowl winning QBs like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, it is astounding the Big Ten has gone so long without a quarterback going in the first round. And to think last offseason the buzz was how the Big Ten would have two for sure, and possibly three.
Yikes.
On Laremy Tunsil
The night of the NFL Draft for any first-round draft pick is supposed to be a special night. For Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, it was quite a wild ride. Just minutes before the draft commenced in Chicago a video of Tunsil smoking marijuana out of a bong while wearing a gas mask surfaced on his own social media account. Tunsil and his agent were quick to set the record straight suggesting his account was hacked, but the slide for what could have been one of the top picks was already underway. Tunsil’s slide ended at No. 13 with the Miami Dolphins, as ESPN and NFL Network scrambled to cover the breaking story as the draft was ongoing. But the drama did not end there. His Instagram account was hacked with pictures of an alleged chat with an Ole Miss coach about paying rent and a utility bill. As Tunsil was meeting with the media after being drafted, the former Ole Miss Rebel threw his former coaches under the bus by admitting to accepting cash from an Ole Miss coach, John Miller. Oh boy. Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze is going to have some explaining to do Friday.
Ah, so that tweet from @CoachHughFreeze was deleted? Well, nothing ever escapes the Internet. pic.twitter.com/HZXVApE0KP
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) April 29, 2016
Nobody could have been happier to see this all unfold than Alabama. Before the draft got underway, a report about Alabama defensive line coach Bo Davis about the be fired or resign amid a recruiting violation broke as well. It was a banner night for the SEC.
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