There’s always a bit of pride when a school sees one of its players selected in the first round of the NFL draft. The school’s social media accounts buzz, recruiting materials get updated and alumni make it a point to track how that player does in the NFL.
But some schools obviously do this more often than others. While places like Alabama and LSU almost always have a player taken in the first round, others school participate only very occasionally. One school from a major conference hasn’t even done had a first-rounder since 1973!
We got a bit curious about the last first-rounder taken from each school. So without further delay, here’s the last player from all 65 Power Five schools to be taken in the first round.
Pittsburgh: Aaron Donald (2014)
Pittsburgh has had 25 total first-rounders. Donald was the last when he was selected 13th overall by the Rams in 2014.
Boston College: Chris Lindstrom (2019)
The Falcons picked the guard 14th overall in 2019.
Clemson: Dexter Lawrence: (2019)
The defensive tackle was picked 17th overall by the Giants. Teammates Christian Wilkins (13th) and Clelin Ferrell (4th) were also taken in the 2019 first round.
Duke: Daniel Jones (2019)
Duke has had only four first-round selections since 1967. Jones became the first since Laken Tomlinson in 2015 when the Giants took him with the sixth overall pick in 2019.
Florida State: Brian Burns (2019)
The defensive end was taken 16th overall by the Panthers.
Georgia Tech: Derrick Morgan (2010)
Morgan was selected by the Titans 16th overall and played his entire career in Tennessee, retiring in 2019.
Louisville: Lamar Jackson (2018)
Jackson wasn’t the first Louisville player to be selected in the 2018 draft. Teammate Jaire Alexander went 14 picks earlier to Green Bay.
Miami: David Njoku (2017)
Njoku became the 63rd Hurricane first-rounder, being selected by the Browns with the 29th pick in the 2017 draft.
North Carolina: Mitchell Trubisky (2017)
After being selected by the Bears, Trubisky became the fourth Tar Heel to be selected second overall, joining Julius Peppers (2002), Lawrence Taylor (1981) and Ken Willard (1965).
North Carolina State: Garrett Bradbury (2019)
Bradbury, a center, was selected 18th overall by the Vikings.
Syracuse: Justin Pugh (2013)
Pugh was selected 19th overall by the Giants.
Virginia: Eugene Monroe (2009)
Monroe, drafted eighth overall by the Jaguars, was Virginia’s third first-rounder in two years after Chris Long and Branden Albert were picked in 2008. But the Cavaliers haven’t had anyone since.
Virginia Tech: Terrell Edmunds (2018)
Terrell Edmunds was picked by the Steelers with the 28th pick, stealing Virginia Tech’s title from his twin brother Tremaine, who was selected by the Bills 12 picks earlier.
Wake Forest: Kevin Johnson (2015)
Wake Forest has had only five first-round picks in its history. Johnson is the last, selected 15th overall by the Texans in 2015.
Notre Dame: Jerry Tillery (2019)
The Irish have had 69 first-rounders. Tillery was the latest after being drafted 28th overall by the Chargers in 2019.
Illinois: A.J. Jenkins (2012)
Jenkins was taken 30th overall by the 49ers in 2012 and never did much in the NFL. Illini DL Whitney Mercilus was taken by the Texans four picks earlier.
Indiana: Thomas Lewis (1994)
The Hoosiers are one of two schools that haven’t had a first-round pick in the 21st century. Indiana’s highest pick since Lewis — a wide receiver taken 24th overall by the Giants — is Rodger Saffold. The tackle was taken by the Rams with the first pick of the second round in 2010.
Iowa: Noah Fant (2019)
The Hawkeyes had two tight ends drafted in the 2019 first-round: Fant (20th overall, Denver) and TJ Hockenson (8th, Detroit).
Maryland: Darnell Savage (2019)
The safety was taken 21st overall by the Packers.
Michigan: Rashan Gary (2019)
Gary was one of two Wolverine linebackers taken in 2019 when the Packers took him 12th overall. Devin Bush was taken two picks earlier by the Steelers.
Michigan State: Jack Conklin (2016)
Conklin was taken eighth overall by the Titans in 2016.
Minnesota: Laurence Maroney (2006)
Maroney was drafted 21st overall by the Patriots in 2006.
Nebraska: Prince Amukamara (2011)
Nebraska has 33 first-rounders in its history, but it’s been almost a decade since Amukamara was taken 19th overall by the Giants.
Northwestern: Luis Castillo (2005)
Castillo became the eighth Northwestern player to be taken in the first round after being selected 28th overall by the Chargers.
Ohio State: Dwayne Haskins (2019)
Haskins became the 83rd Buckeye to be drafted in the first round after the Redskins selected him with the 15th overall pick. (Nick Bosa was the 82nd after being selected second overall by the 49ers.)
Penn State: Saquon Barkley (2018)
The Nittany Lions hadn’t seen a player drafted in the first round since 2010 (Jared Odrick) when the Giants made Barkley the second overall pick in 2018.
Purdue: Ryan Kerrigan (2011)
Purdue has only had five players drafted in the first round since 1986. Kerrigan was the last, selected 16th overall by the Redskins.
Rutgers: Anthony Davis (2010)
Rutgers has only three first-rounders to its name. Kenny Britt was taken 30th overall by the Titans in the 2009 draft while Anthony Davis (11th, 49ers) and McCourty (27th, Patriots) were picked in 2010.
Wisconsin: Ryan Ramczyk (2017)
The Saints took Ramczyk with the final pick of the first round in 2017. Teammate TJ Watt was taken by the Steelers just two picks earlier.
Baylor: Corey Coleman (2016)
Coleman was taken by the Browns with the 15th pick of the 2016 draft.
Iowa State: George Amundson (1973)
It’s hard to believe, but Iowa State hasn’t had a first-rounder in 47 years (and counting) since the Oilers took running back George Amundson with the 14th overall pick in 1973. Amundson is actually the only first-round draft pick in Iowa State history. Here’s a fun fact: Seven schools with defunct programs still have more first-round picks than Iowa State: Boston University, Detroit Mercy, Long Beach State, Marquette, San Francisco, St. Mary’s and the University of Tampa.
Kansas: Aqib Talib (2008)
The Jayhawks have had nine first-round picks in their history, but none since cornerback Aqib Talib was taken 20th overall by the Buccaneers.
Kansas State: Josh Freeman (2009)
The Wildcats have had three first-round picks in the Bill Snyder era: Freeman (picked 17th by Tampa Bay), Terence Newman (fifth overall by the Cowboys in 2003) and Chris Canty (29th, 1997, Patriots).
Oklahoma: Marquise Brown (2019)
Brown was taken 25th overall by the Ravens in the same draft that a Sooner — quarterback Kyler Murray — went first overall. (Baker Mayfield, of course, went 1/1 a year earlier as well.)
Oklahoma State: Justin Gilbert (2014)
Gilber, who has been one of the biggest draft busts this decade, was taken eighth overall by the Browns in 2014 — 14 picks before they selected Johnny Manziel.
TCU: LJ Collier (2019)
Collier became the 14th first-rounder in TCU when the Seahawks took him with the 23rd pick in the 2019 draft.
Fun fact: The only No. 1 overall pick to hail from TCU was also the only center to be drafted No. 1 overall (Ki Aldrich in 1939 by the Chicago Cardinals).
Ki Aldrich 1939 Chicago Cardinals
Texas: Malcom Brown (2015)
Brown was selected by the Patriots with the final pick of the 2015 first pick. The Longhorns are currently in the middle of an uncharacteristic first-round drought, but it doesn’t qualify as the longest just yet. They went from 1957-63 without a player drafted in the first round.
Texas Tech: Patrick Mahomes (2017)
Texas Tech has had only two first-round picks in the last 36 years: Mahomes (10th overall to Kansas City) and Michael Crabtree (10th overall to San Francisco in 2009).
West Virginia: Karl Joseph (2016)
Joseph was picked 22nd overall by the Raiders in 2016.
Arizona: Antoine Cason (2008)
Arizona has only had 10 first-round draft picks in its history, which seems low for a warm-weather program. Only two have come this century: Cason (27th overall to the Chargers) and Trung Canidate (31st overall to the Rams in 2000).
Arizona State: N’Keal Harry (2019)
Arizona State has had 26 first-round picks, the latest of which was Harry, who was drafted with the final pick of the 2019 first round.
California: Jared Goff (2016)
The Rams made Goff the second 1/1 in school history. Steve Bartkowski became the first when the Falcons picked him first overall in the 1975 draft.
UCLA: Josh Rosen (2018)
Miller went 15th overall to the Raiders in 2018, five picks after the man he protected in college — Josh Rosen.
Colorado: Jimmy Smith (2011)
Colorado in the ’90s was fertile ground for first-round picks (nine overall) but it’s been barren in the 21st century. No Buffaloes have been taken in the first round since Smith (27th overall to Baltimore) and Nate Solder (17th overall to New England) in 2011.
Oregon: DeForest Buckner (2016)
Buckner was the 17th Oregon player to be selected in the first round when the Niners took him seventh overall in 2016. The first was quarterback George Shaw, who became the only 1/1 in school history when the Colts took him first in 1955. (Fun fact: Future Colts legend Johnny Unitas went 102nd overall to Pittsburgh in the same draft.)
Oregon State: Brandin Cooks (2014)
Cooks became just the sixth Beaver to be taken in the first round when the Saints took him 20th overall and the first since Steven Jackson went 24th overall to the Rams in 2004.
USC: Sam Darnold (2018)
Darnold became the 81st Trojan to be selected in the first round when the Jets took him third overall in the 2018 draft.
Stanford: Christian McCaffrey (2017)
McCaffrey and teammate Solomon Thomas were the last two Stanford players to be drafted in the first round. Thomas was picked third overall in the 2017 draft by the Niners while the Panthers took McCaffrey five picks later at No. 8.
Utah: Garrett Bolles (2017)
Utah has seen eight players drafted in the first round. The latest was Bolles, a tackle taken 20th overall by the Broncos in 2017.
Washington: Kaleb McGary (2019)
The 2010s were Washington’s most bountiful in the first round. A total of eight players were taken, a stretch that ended with McGary — the Falcons’ 31st pick in 2019.
Washington State: Andre Dillard (2019)
Dillard was taken 22nd overall by the Eagles in 2019. A total of 13 Cougars have been selected in the first round.
Alabama: Josh Jacobs (2019)
With 31 players selected since 2000, the last Bama first-rounder is an honor that can change by the hour on draft day. The current holder is Josh Jacobs, who went 24th overall to the Raiders, just after teammates Jonah Williams (11th, Bengals) and Quinnen Williams (3rd, Jets).
Arkansas: Frank Ragnow (2018)
The Lions (20th pick) made Ragnow the first Razorback to be selected in the first round since 2008, when both Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were drafted early.
Auburn: Dee Ford (2014)
Auburn had a good decade, but it didn’t show in the first-round draft results. Ford became the fourth Auburn first-rounder of the 2010s when the Chiefs took him 23rd overall in 2014, but no Tiger has come off the board early since.
Florida: Taven Bryan (2018)
A total of 52 Gators have been taken in the first round, the latest of which was Bryan. The defensive tackle was taken 29th overall by the Jaguars in 2018.
Georgia: DeAndre Baker (2019)
Baker was taken 30th overall by the Giants in 2019, one year after the Bulldogs had three players — Roquan Smith, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel — taken in the first round. That was a first in school history.
Kentucky: Josh Allen (2019)
Allen went seventh overall to the Jaguars in 2019. The highest player ever selected was QB Tim Couch, who went first overall to the Browns in 1999.
LSU: Devin White (2019)
This honor won’t last long, but White took the title in 2019 when the linebacker was taken fifth overall by the Buccaneers.
Ole Miss: Evan Engram (2017)
Ole Miss had three players drafted in 2016’s first round — Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell and Robert Nkemdiche. A year later, Engram became the 23rd Ole Miss player taken in the first round when the Giants took him 23rd overall.
Mississippi State: Johnathan Abram (2019)
Thirteen Bulldogs have been taken in the first round and three of them happened in 2019. Abram was taken 27th overall by the Raiders, one pick behind Montez Sweat (26th, Redskins) and eight behind Jeffery Simmons (19th, Titans).
Missouri: Charles Harris (2017)
Harris was taken 22nd overall by the Dolphins in 2017.
South Carolina: Hayden Hurst (2018)
Hurst (25th pick, Ravens) became the first Gamecock taken in the first round since the Texans took Jadeveon Clowney first overall in 2014.
Tennessee: Derek Barnett (2017)
The Vols have sent 45 players to the first round, but only five since 2010. Barnett was the latest, being selected 14th overall by the Eagles in 2017.
Texas A&M: Myles Garrett (2017)
Garrett became the first 1/1 in school history when the Browns took him first overall in 2017. Five other Aggies, including Von Miller in 2011 and Heisman winner John David Crow in 1958, have been selected second overall.
Vanderbilt: Chris Williams (2008)
Williams was drafted 14th overall by the Bears, two years after future Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was taken 11th overall by the Denver Broncos. A total of nine Commodores have been taken in the first round.
