Bobby Burton
The Big 12, the ACC and others can bellyache all they want about the SEC and Big 10 pushing them around at the negotiating table when it comes to number of playoff spots and other aspects of the future of college football.
But last night was a prime example of exactly why the two premier conferences feel justified in doing so.
The SEC finished with 15 picks in the first round of the NFL draft. The Big 10 had 11.
That’s 26 of 32 in the first round.
The Big 12 and ACC had just 2 each.
Hell, Texas alone, with three first-round picks, had more than those two entire conferences. Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan did, too.
The message to recruits is clear. If you want to play big-time college football on a weekly basis, you need to be in either the SEC or the Big 10. Otherwise, you’re just not playing the same category of competition weekly (or, more appropriately, “weakly” in the case of the Big 12 and ACC).
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There were six native Texans selected in the first round of the draft. The Longhorns were three of those.
No other Texas team produced a Texas native first-rounder.
Cam Ward from West Columbia, Ashton Jeanty from Frisco and Donovan Jackson from Houston were the other Texas natives who were selected in the first round.
If you’re looking at the state as a whole from a production standpoint, that’s four from Greater Houston, one from DFW and one from Cen-Tex. DFW typically holds that edge so it was a big year for Houston.
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Knowing what he went through in high school dealing with his mom’s health issues, knowing how he comported himself in college from his very first week on campus where he treated every day like he was on a mission, I couldn’t help but be excited and simulataneously amazed at the path of Kelvin Banks to become the 9th overall pick of the Saints.
Way to go, Kelvin!
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Jahdae Barron held a PARTY last night [all caps used for emphasis!].
A lot of current Longhorns and even their families were invited and attended. At least 200+ folks were there to celebrate Jahdae going to the Denver Broncos.
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Matthew Golden, meanwhile, was feted in style. Golden was picked by the Packers, who hosted the NFL draft.
That had to be a cool experience for Golden, who received a warm reception when his selection was announced.