2010 NFL Draft: NFL Raids SEC, Alabama and Florida Offer Quality and Quantity

Endless man-hours were invested by the 32 NFL teams over the past three months to ensure proper choices for the position players each team will need for the 2010 NFL season.

NFL scout combines, hours and hours of watching film reel to reel from the 2009 college season, and exhausting background searches are what gets the selection committees to the point of choosing who they want or need to fill available positions.

The right or wrong choice can make or break a career. In 2010, the selection committees across the country chose players from the SEC more than any other time in the history of the draft.

Forty-nine players were drafted out of the SEC in seven selection rounds organized by the NFL that took three days to complete.

SEC Breakdown

From the University of Florida, nine players became professional athletes. From the Alabama Crimson Tide, seven. Six players were harvested from the training grounds of the Tennessee Volunteers and LSU Bengal Tigers.

There were five from UGA, four Rebels, and three Kentucky Wildcats. There were two players each out of Auburn, MSU, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. The Arkansas Razorbacks graduated one player into the ranks of the NFL.

Thirty of the 49 selected individuals are defensive players. Twelve men enter the ranks of the NFL secondary, twelve defensive linemen, and six linebackers.

On the offensive side of the ball, seven offensive linemen, six running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, and two quarterbacks were drafted into the ranks of the professional league. One special teams player was chosen as a kick returner.

For the first time, each of the twelve teams in the conference placed at least one player into the NFL.

Other BCS Conferences

The closest conference to the SEC (in numbers) was the Big Ten. Thirty-four players were given the nod by the big league teams.

Thirty players out of the Big 12, 31 from the ACC, 29 from the PAC 10, and 18 young men from the Big East head to the professional ranks.

Summary

Forty-nine selections is the highest number of players ever chosen from the SEC, or from any other conference, in the history of the NFL draft.

Prior to 2010, the most players selected from the SEC was 47 in 2002.

Without question, the SEC is the dominant conference in college football. Not only are they king of the Crystal Trophy, they continually put more players year-in and year-out into the professional ranks.

Since 1990, the NFL has drafted 789 players from the SEC, more than any other conference. Of the last 13 NFL drafts, the SEC has tied or led all other conferences for the most player selections.