The Florida Gators finished the 2010 NFL Draft with a nation's-best nine players drafted. Florida set a school record with six players taken in the first two rounds and tied its record with three first-round draft picks.
Florida's total of nine players drafted tied for second in school history. However, the Florida-best of 10 selections came in 1978 when the draft was 12 rounds long, and only six of those were chosen in the first seven rounds, which has been the draft's length since 1993.
Of the other two occasions where nine UF players were drafted, one instance also came in the era of the 12-round draft (1992) with only five players being selected in the first seven rounds. The other (2007) saw five players taken in the first five rounds, with four of the nine choices coming in the later stages of the draft. In 2010, meanwhile, all nine of Florida's draftees were selected in the first five rounds, making this the most loaded draft in school history from a quality standpoint.
The Gators have now had 42 all-time first-round draft picks, and cornerback Joe Haden (Ft. Washington, Md.) became the third-highest drafted Gator defensive player all-time, going to the Cleveland Browns with the seventh-overall pick in the draft. No Gator cornerback has ever been chosen higher.
In addition, center Maurkice Pouncey (Lakeland, Fla.) was the first center selected in the draft, taken by the Steelers with the 18th selection of the draft. He is the first UF center ever taken in the first round, and with his selection every offensive and defensive position has now seen a Gator selected in the first two rounds of an NFL Draft.
Quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) became the fourth Florida quarterback ever taken in the first round when the Denver Broncos selected him with the 25th choice in the draft.
With Saturday's selection of Riley Cooper (Clearwater, Fla.) by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Gators have now had a wide receiver drafted in five consecutive drafts, one of two schools nationally to do so. UF has also had a combined seven wide receivers and tight ends drafted since 2008, the best figure in the nation, with the addition of Cooper and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez (Bristol, Conn.) to that list on Saturday.
With the selection of Jermaine Cunningham (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Carlos Dunlap (North Charleston, S.C.), Florida has now had eight defensive linemen drafted since 2006. It marks the second time in the past four drafts that UF has had multiple defensive linemen selected.
The Gators also had a pair of defensive backs selected, with Major Wright (Miramar, Fla.) getting the third-round call from Chicago in addition to Haden. It marks the second time in four years that multiple Florida defensive backs have been drafted, as well.
With today's selection of Hernandez by the Patriots, in addition to New England's second-round picks of Cunningham and linebacker Brandon Spikes (Shelby, N.C.) on Friday, the Gators saw three players get drafted by the same team for just the second time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1960.
"I've said many times I have the utmost respect for Coach Belichick and the way he goes about his business,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer said. “The Patriots are a first-class organization from top to bottom. Overall, our group of players have been drafted by top-notch organizations and coaches, and I'm excited for them as they begin their professional careers."
Florida previously had four players drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2003. Of those four taken by Chicago, three appeared in Super Bowl XLI following the 2006 NFL season, including two starters in quarterback Rex Grossman and defensive tackle Ian Scott.
The New York Giants drafted four Gators in 1957 and also took three UF players in 1953 and 1956.
Gator 2010 Draftees
CB Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns – 1st Round, 7th Overall
C Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers – 1st Round, 18th Overall
QB Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos – 1st Round, 25th Overall
DE Jermaine Cunningham, New England Patriots – 2nd Round, 53rd Overall
DE Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals – 2nd Round, 54th Overall
LB Brandon Spikes, New England Patriots – 2nd Round, 62nd Overall
S Major Wright, Chicago Bears – 3rd Round, 75th Overall
TE Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots – 4th Round, 113th Overall
WR Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles – 5th Round, 159th Overall
Most Players Drafted
1. Florida – 9
2. Alabama – 7
Oklahoma – 7
Southern Cal – 7
5. Iowa – 6
LSU – 6
Penn State – 6
Tennessee – 6
Texas – 6
Utah – 6
Most Gators Selected in a Single Draft
10 1978*
9 2010
9 2007
9 1992*
*Draft was 12 rounds
SEC Notes on 2010 NFL Draft
-The SEC had 49 players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. The number represents the most SEC players ever taken in the NFL Draft.
-The SEC had the most players taken among conferences in the draft. Behind the SEC's 49 selections were the Big Ten (34), ACC (31), Big 12 (30) and Pac-10 (29).
-Since 1990, the SEC has had 782 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 37.2 selections per year. The Big Ten is second with 672 selections.
-Since 1997, the SEC has had 552 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 39.4 selections per year.
-The SEC has now led or tied for the most selections in the NFL Draft for 11 of the last 13 seasons and the last four drafts.
-All 12 SEC schools had at least one player selected in the draft. The numbers alphabetically: Alabama (7), Arkansas (1), Auburn (2), Florida (9), Georgia (5), Kentucky (3), LSU (6), Ole Miss (4), Mississippi State (2), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (6), Vanderbilt (2).
-The SEC had at least five players taken in every round of this season's draft. The league had eight players taken in rounds 2-3-5, seven players taken in rounds 1-4, six players in round 7 and five players in round 6.
-There have been 67 first round SEC selections in last 10 drafts, an average 6.7 per year. The most by the SEC was 11 in the 2007 draft. The lowest in the last 10 drafts was four in 2003 and 2006.
-The SEC has had at least seven players taken in the first round in back-to-back drafts (8 in 2009 and 7 in 2010).
-Since conference expansion in 1992, the SEC has had 114 players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, an average of 6.3 per year.
-The SEC has had five picks in the top 20 of the first round four years in a row.
-Since 2004, the SEC has had 32 players taken in the first 18 picks of the first round.
-In the last eight NFL drafts, 11 of 12 SEC teams had at least one player go in the top 11 of the first round.
-The SEC has had 3 of the top 8 picks in NFL draft for 4th straight year and 5 of last 6 years.
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