Northwestern had two players selected in the NFL draft for the third straight year.
Story: Northwestern draftees trending up
Story: Northwestern draftees trending up
Number of NU players in draft trending up
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
At another site they seem to be arguing in the opposite direction by pointing out that it's been over a decade since a Wildcat was taken in the first 3 rounds of the NFL draft. See:
NU has had no success in the early rounds under Pat Fitzgerald (<--)
I think both points are valid. Undoubtedly FItz has improved the overall depth and talent across the roster, however, it is also true that to date, FItz has not been able to recruit and/or develop talent that is considered elite by the next level. This is what is needed for the program to take the next step.
What is that supposed to prove? Look how many high draft picks Rutgers and UConn have produced? What has that netted them on the field?
It may prove that if you want to be a high NFL draft pick, you may be better off going elsewhere. We need to disprove that theory.
As one of Thorson's earliest admirers, I think you are right but one guy won't be enough. We need to establish a consistent pipeline to overcome the perception.
If Clayton goes high and Trevor keeps his starting job. That will create a little buzz at the most visible position. How many schools have two QB's in the NFL.
Only a few, I'd bet. And fewer with back to back QB's in the pros.
With relatively small numbers of NU players entering the NFL, it may be that Cat players succeed in the pro game at a higher percentage than other schools.
Fretting about our ability to generate NFL 1st rounders seems like a waste of time and is contrary to our recruiting pitch. It's about the next 40 years, not the next 4 years.
The number of top recruits that meet NU's academic standards is pretty small to begin with. And, for recruits with the necessary talent to be a 1st rounder, perennial powers like Ohio State and Alabama may be a better choice. First, they're surrounded by better talent, which makes them look better. Anthony Walker sure looked better when Dean Lowry was taking on the linemen in front of him. Second, team success on the field leads to greater exposure to the scouts identifying first rounders.
Would I like to get even better recruits? Yes, but for Northwestern that means beating Stanford, Duke, and other academic peers - not to mention the top programs named above - when an outstanding, academically-qualified recruit is available. I'm sure that at least 98% of the NFL first rounders don't fit that mold.
Would I like to see even better player development? Yes, but I don't think that's the reason for our lack of first rounders. Once we improve the talent at all positions - which is happening - the victories and exposure for our top performers will follow. The Pinstripe victory certainly drew attracted attention for CT and JJTBC.
The number of top recruits that meet NU's academic standards is pretty small to begin with. And, for recruits with the necessary talent to be a 1st rounder, perennial powers like Ohio State and Alabama may be a better choice. First, they're surrounded by better talent, which makes them look better. Anthony Walker sure looked better when Dean Lowry was taking on the linemen in front of him. Second, team success on the field leads to greater exposure to the scouts identifying first rounders.
Would I like to get even better recruits? Yes, but for Northwestern that means beating Stanford, Duke, and other academic peers - not to mention the top programs named above - when an outstanding, academically-qualified recruit is available. I'm sure that at least 98% of the NFL first rounders don't fit that mold.
Would I like to see even better player development? Yes, but I don't think that's the reason for our lack of first rounders. Once we improve the talent at all positions - which is happening - the victories and exposure for our top performers will follow. The Pinstripe victory certainly drew attracted attention for CT and JJTBC.
The problem with this argument is that almost all P5 recruits feel it is realistic that they will make a NFL roster. Recruits will want to see others that choose NU have sucess at the next level.
The number of 1st rounders is not a good gauge for our recruiting and the recruting of many teams because teams are only as strong as their weakest link. We'll have made a big step in our recruiting if 3-4 players are being drafted consistently per year.
The depth and bottom of roster have improved but we won't reach the next level until we start recruiting and developing talent that is high NFL caliber . I am not talking about OSU or Alabama but we can and should aspire to produce an NFL matriculation track record similar to Stanford's.
You are assuming it's only a question of attracting that caliber of talent. In my opinion it's a function or recruiting AND developing that caliber of talent. I don't think we are doing either very consistently right now.
Right. Voltz, now a 5-6 year old example, definitely chose Wisconsin due to the relative likelihood of making the NFL. As evidenced by a post of mine earlier this week, that's not consistently happening at NU, especially on the O-line.
Just by the eyeball test of watching games, it seems the talent level at NU has been ticking up. We're not quite at the level of the early 1980s when we were a veritable NFL factory, sending guys like Chris Hinton, Steve Tasker, John Kidd, Alex Moyer, Mike Guendling, etc. to the NFL. (/sarcasm) This year we would've had 3 players drafted if Matt Harris did not have his career-ending injury. Definitely need to do a better job recruiting and developing OL. We've had 2 DL drafted in last two drafts, and the pipeline seems solid.
Stanford has had a lot of first round draftees since Harbaugh became the coach. That should be what we are striving for.
Good thing winning college football games is more important than sending players to the NFL.
Just to argue the other side, why is winning more important than sending players to the NFL? So the school and coaches can make more money while the alumni and players can feel good about themselves? College is also about setting its student for life afterwards and getting drafted in the first couple rounds really does that.
Bad thing is that having players who can play in the NFL generally helps you win more games.
