College Football 2011: Re-Ranking the Top 25 by Number of NFL Draftees
With the NFL draft having come and gone, nearly all big name programs had at least one player selected.
While some teams lost more players than others, there are always schools who reload every season and stay in the Top 25 year in and year out.
While the official preseason Top 25 college football poll has not been released, numerous websites and publications have their post-spring ball Top 25.
What if that Top 25 were ranked based on NFL draft picks?
Here is a re-ranking of the Top 25 college football teams based on NFL draftees according to ESPN.com post spring rankings.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=6465272
25. Arizona St.
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Arizona St. is on the bubble of being a preseason Top 25 team and they are on the bottom of the list of NFL draft picks among all Top 25 teams.
The lone Sun Devil drafted in 2011 was defensive tackle Lawrence Guy.
Guy was selected late in the seventh round by the Green Bay Packers and helps Arizona St. kick off this list.
24. Oregon
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While the Oregon Ducks may be the best team in the country, when it comes to NFL draft picks, they only had one in 2011.
The long-haired Casey Matthews was the lone Duck selected in the NFL draft.
Matthews may have been a steal for the Detroit Lions in the middle of the fourth round, but with only one player selected, the Ducks come in near the bottom of this Top 25.
23. Oklahoma St.
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Just ahead of the Oregon Ducks are the Oklahoma St. Cowboys.
Kendall Hunter was the Cowboys lone selection, one pick before Casey Matthews. He was drafted by the 49ers and over the past few seasons was one of the best running backs in college football.
Oklahoma St. is a Top-10 team with most of their talent coming back from last season. The fact that Hunter was the only player drafted is no surprise.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22. Michigan St.
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Michigan St. is the first team on the list with two selections.
Both players, including All-American linebacker Greg Jones were taken in the sixth round. Jones was an impact player in college, but slipped in the draft due to his size.
There are teams ahead of Michigan St. with less picks, but the late round selections put the Spartans near the bottom of this Top 25.
21. Notre Dame
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Notre Dame, like many of the teams before it had one selection in the draft.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph went 43rd overall to the Minnesota Vikings.
Rudolph has NFL size at over 6'6" and 260 pounds. He has a chance to be a Pro-Bowl player and if not for injuries, would have certainly been a first-round selection.
20. South Carolina
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The Gamecocks had two selections in this year's draft including defensive back Chris Culliver who was taken in the third round by the 49ers.
His teammate Cliff Matthews was taken in the seventh round by the Falcons.
South Carolina has a wealth of talent returning and will likely have more selections in the 2012 NFL draft.
19. Arkansas
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Arkansas has the biggest name so far on the list in quarterback Ryan Mallett.
Mallett slipped to the third round before New England scooped him up.
The Razorbacks had three people drafted, including talented tight end D.J. Williams and guard Demarcus Love.
18. Virginia Tech
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The Virginia Tech Hokies had a player taken in the second, fourth and sixth rounds.
Running back Ryan Williams went in Round 2 to Arizona and defensive back Rashad Carmichael was taken by Houston in Round 4.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor fell to Baltimore in the sixth round. Taylor spent the better part of four years as the Hokies starter.
17. Boise St.
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The explosive receiving duo of Titus Young and Austin Pettis were both taken on Day 2 of the draft.
Young went in the second round, 44th overall to Detroit and Pettis went in Round 3, 78th overall to the Rams.
Defensive back Bradyn Thompson was selected in the seventh round by the Redskins.
This was the most players Boise St. had drafted since four were selected in 2007.
16. West Virginia
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The West Virginia Mountaineers had four players selected, all on the defensive side of the ball.
This helps explain why they were one of the highest rated defenses in the country last season.
Brandon Hogan was taken in the fourth round, followed by Robert Sands in the fifth, James Thomas in the sixth and Chris Neild in the seventh.
15. Oklahoma
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For the first time in 10 years, Oklahoma did not have a first or second-round selection. That could spell trouble for opposing squads next season.
Running back Demarco Murray was the first Sooner taken. Murray was selected in the third round, 71st overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
Quinton Carter was taken in Round 4, followed by Jonathan Nelson and Jeremy Beal in the seventh round.
14. Texas A&M
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Texas A&M only had one selection in the entire draft, but they rank so high on the list because their lone selection, Von Miller, was taken No. 2 overall.
Miller was the best defensive player in the draft and will have a chance to make an immediate impact for the Denver Broncos.
Miller is an every down linebacker, which is becoming more and more rare these days.
13. Stanford
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Stanford had four selections in all, one each in Rounds 3-6.
Defensive tackle Slone Fua was the first taken in Round 3 by the Carolina Panthers.
He was followed by Owen Marecic in Round 4 by the Browns, Richard Sherman in Round 5 by the Seahawks and Ryan Whelan in Round 6 by the Bengals.
One name not chosen was Andrew Luck. Good thing for Stanford, he decided to return for his junior season.
12. Florida St.
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While Florida St. only had three selections, quarterback Christinan Ponder was taken in the first round by Minnesota and center Rodney Huston was drafted by Kansas City in Round 2.
Defensive end Markus White was taken by Washington in the seventh round.
If the Seminoles can adequately replace Ponder, their real ranking may even be higher than this by season's end.
11. Texas
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The Texas Longhorns had four total selections including Aaron Williams, one of the best cover corners in the country.
Williams was taken in the second round by Buffalo. Two more Texas defensive backs were taken in the later rounds, including Curtis Brown in Round 3 and Chykie Brown in Round 5.
Linebacker Sam Acho was taken in the fourth round by Arizona. Not bad for a Texas team that struggled most of last season.
10. Mississippi St.
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Mississippi St. has not had more people taken in a draft since 1995.
With four selections this season, the Bulldogs crack the Top 10.
A first-round selection in tackle Derek Sherrod along with a selection in Rounds 4-6, put Mississippi St. in the Top 10 on this list.
9. Missouri
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Missouri only had three selections, but they are the first team on the list with multiple first rounders.
Defensive end Aldon Smith was drafted seventh overall by the 49ers and quarterback Blaine Gabbart was taken tenth by Jacksonville.
The final Tiger selected was all the way in Round 7 with linebacker Andrew Gachkar going to San Diego.
8. Florida
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For the second time in two years a Pouncey from Florida was taken in the first round.
Center Mike Pouncey was drafted by Miami, in somewhat of a stretch pick according to many experts.
The Gators also had Marcus Gilbert selected in the second round, Ahmad Black in Round 5 and Maurice Hurt in Round 7.
7. TCU
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TCU is the first team on the list with five selections.
The first of those Horned Frogs selected was Andy Dalton in Round 2 to the Bengals. TCU then had two players taken in Round 5, including Marcus Cannon and Jeremy Kerley.
Defensive backs Colin Jones and Malcolm Williams were taken in the sixth and seventh rounds respectively.
6. Ohio St.
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Ohio St. had five selections on draft weekend, including first rounder Cameron Hayward. The Steelers took the defensive lineman who can play both inside and out with the 31st overall pick.
The other four Buckeyes selected were also on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive backs Chimdi Chekwa and Jermale Hines were taken in Rounds 4 and 5 respectively.
Linebackers Brian Rolle and Ross Homan both went in Round 6.
5. Nebraska
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The Nebraska Cornhuskers had more selections than any Top-25 team and come in at No. 5 on this list.
Their lone first rounder was cornerback Prince Amukamara. Amukamara is highly touted, but slipped slightly in the draft to the Giants at No. 19.
Running back Roy Helu went in the fourth round along with kicker Alex Henery.
The Cornhuskers also had two selections in Round 5 and one in each of the final two rounds to give them seven picks overall.
4. Georgia
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The Georgia Bulldogs had another big draft with six total selections.
Wide receiver A.J. Green who many consider the most talented player in the draft went fourth overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bulldogs also produced two third round picks and two fourth round picks. A seventh round selection finished off another solid draft for Georgia who is easily a Top-5 team based on draft selections.
3. LSU
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Like their SEC rivals Georgia, LSU also had six players selected, including one first rounder.
Do it all cornerback Patrick Peterson was taken fifth overall. Peterson has a chance to make an impact on both defense and special teams in the NFL.
The Tigers had a strong showing in the third round with four more selections and finished it up with a seventh-round pick.
2. Wisconsin
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Wisconsin had five players taken overall, including two in the first round.
Pass rushing defensive end J.J. Watt was selected 11th overall by Houston and tackle Gabe Carimi was drafted 29th by Chicago.
The Badgers produced the second rounder in tight end Lance Kendricks and a third rounder in John Moffitt.
Seventh-round selection Bill Nagy finished off the draft for Wisconsin.
1. Alabama
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Alabama showed why they had more talent than anybody in the country on draft weekend with four first-round selections.
The Crimson Tide did not have as many people selected as some other teams on the list, but are head and shoulders above the competition with five overall selections, including four on Day 1.
Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was taken third overall and he was quickly followed by Julio Jones at No. 6 and James Carpenter at No. 25.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram went No. 28 to New Orleans and quarterback Greg McElroy was taken in Round 7.
The Crimson Tide are No. 1 on this Top 25 and perhaps showed up more on draft day than they did during the regular season.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
