The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/130469
michigan football The only protected crossover matchup in the new slate involves Indiana and Purdue. Big Ten Comes Up Short At NFL Draft One by one, they ticked off the board. Players from Alabama, LSU, Florida, Notre Dame, Houston and more heard their names called in the first round of the NFL Draft April 25. Big Ten powers Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State sat idle, waiting, and then the Dallas Cowboys finally dipped into the Midwest's premier conference, drafting Wisconsin center Travis Frederick with the 31st overall selection. By then, 11 players from the SEC had already been chosen, three from the Big 12, four from the Pac-12 and six from the ACC. When the three-day extravaganza had concluded, the SEC once again stood as the dominant conference, setting a modern-day record with 63 draft picks, eclipsing the Pac-10's 55 selections in 1983. The Big Ten, meanwhile, finished fourth among conferences with only 22 draft picks, its lowest total since 1994, when it had only 21. However, 19 years ago, the league had the No. 1 overall pick and four first-round choices, giving that draft class considerably more aplomb. "You have to wonder how much the Big Ten's damaged national reputation is impacting its draft hopefuls," ESPN. com's Adam Rittenberg wrote. "The SEC's rise has made that conference the first place NFL general managers and player personnel directors look for talent. Although Big Ten players might be comparable to their SEC counterparts in many ways, their competition level might be looked at as a drawback in the final evaluations." Michigan languished among its conference brethren, going without a pick in the first four rounds for the first time since 1968 — quarterback/ running back Denard Robinson went to Jacksonville with the seventh choice of the fifth round. The Wolverines have had just five Big Ten Draft Choices By School School Picks Illinois 4 Wisconsin 3 Penn State 3 Michigan State 3 Ohio State 3 Michigan 2 Nebraska 2 Purdue 1 Iowa 1 Highest Selection No. 86 Hugh Thornton No. 31 Travis Frederick No. 87 Jordan Hill No. 48 Le'Veon Bell No. 49 Jonathan Hankins No. 135 Denard Robinson No. 190 Rex Burkhead No. 44 Kawann Short No. 159 Micah Hyde * Northwestern, Minnesota and Indiana did not have anyone drafted photo by lon horwedel