The 2015 college football season is over, and for many players, their entire college careers are over as they hope to head to the NFL through the 2016 Draft.
But which schools are the best at — not only putting players in the NFL — but putting them in highly regarded positions in the first round of the NFL Draft? We looked at the past five NFL Drafts to find out, and some of the results may surprise you.
Naturally, the No. 1 team was Alabama, with 14 first-round picks since the 2011 NFL Draft. With players like linebacker Reggie Ragland and defensive lineman Jarran Reed projected to go high in the first round, it looks like the Crimson Tide will be adding even more first-rounders in this upcoming 2016 Draft.
Along with Alabama leading all schools, the SEC also led all conferences with a staggering 49 first-round picks over that same time frame. Second-place was the ACC with 26, followed by the Pac 12 with 24, the Big 12 with 20, and the Big Ten with 18.
Ohio State may have as many as five or six first-rounders in the 2016 Draft, but they have not had that kind of success over the past five drafts. Starting with the 2011 NFL Draft, Ohio State has only had three first round picks: Bradley Roby, Ryan Shazier, and Cameron Heyward.
Here is the final tally on which schools had the most first-round draft picks in the past five years:
Alabama: 14
Florida State: 7
Texas A&M: 7
Florida: 6
LSU: 6
North Carolina: 5
USC: 5
Washington: 5
Wisconsin: 5
Auburn: 4
Baylor: 4
Clemson: 4
Georgia: 4
Louisville: 4
Missouri: 4
Notre Dame: 4
Oregon: 4
Illinois: 3
Iowa: 3
Ohio State: 3
Oklahoma State: 3
South Carolina: 3
Stanford: 3
West Virginia: 3
Boise State: 2
Boston College: 2
Central Florida: 2
Colorado: 2
Miami: 2
Michigan State: 2
Mississippi State: 2
Pittsburgh: 2
Syracuse: 2
Tennessee: 2
Texas: 2
UCLA: 2
Virginia Tech: 2
Arizona State: 1
Buffalo: 1
BYU: 1
California: 1
Central Michigan: 1
Connecticut: 1
Duke: 1
Houston: 1
Kentucky: 1
Memphis: 1
Michigan: 1
Nebraska: 1
Northern Illinois: 1
Oklahoma: 1
Oregon State: 1
Purdue: 1
TCU: 1
Temple: 1
Utah: 1
Wake Forest: 1
Washington State: 1
