Four former Irish players are selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, including two in the first round
REPRESENTED WELL
our more Notre Dame products walked through the NFL's front door in the 2012 draft in late April. Prolific wide receiver Michael Floyd, determined safety and last year's team captain Harrison Smith, versatile cor- nerback Robert Blanton and dependable linebacker Darius Fleming all heard their names called. Notre Dame's 471 draft picks rank sec- ond only to USC, which has anywhere from 476 to 481, depending on which on- line resource you look at. It was the first time Notre Dame had multiple first-round picks in one year since 1994, when it had three with defensive lineman Bryant Young (seventh), offensive lineman Aaron Taylor (16th) and defensive back Jeff Burris (27th). Prior to this year there had been only four first-round NFL draft picks in the last 18 years (1994-2011) from Notre Dame — after having four alone in 1993 (Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, Tom Carter and Irv Smith) followed by the aforementioned three in
F BY WES MORGAN
Michael Floyd, who was drafted 13th overall by Arizona, is the first Notre Dame wide receiver to be taken in the
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first round of the NFL Draft since Tim Brown in 1988. PHOTO COURTESY ARIZONA CARDINALS
