A Stats story on The Analyst about FCS schools that have had the most NFL draft picks since the IA-IAA split in 1978 left me curious about how Ivy League teams rank in draft picks since the creation of the subdivision. With a little research here's what I found. The listing includes the position, round, pick number and team for each player.
Yale (12 draft picks)
1979 TE John Spagnola, 9th (245) Patriots
1980 DB Kenny Hill, 8th (194) Raiders
1982 LB Jeff Rohrer, 2nd (53) Cowboys
1982 RB Rich Diana, 5th (136) Dolphins
1982 WR Curt Grieve, 6th (159) Eagles
2001 S Than Merrill, 7th (223) Bucs
2001 TE Eric Johnson, 7th (224) 49ers
2004 TE Nate Lawrie, 6th (181) Bucs
2011 HB Shane Bannon, 7th (223) Bucs
2018 S Foyesade Oluokun, 6th (200) Falcons
2022 LB Rodney Thomas II, 7th (239) Colts
2024 OL Kiran Armegadje, 3rd (75) Bears
Princeton (9)
1981 DB Cris Cirssy, 12th (323) Patriots
1982 QB Bob Holly, 11th (291) Washington
1983 G Jon Schultheis, 7th (182) Eagles
1990 QB Judd Garrett, 12th (327) Eagles
2001 C Dennis Norman, 7th (222) Seahawks
2013 DE Mike Catapano, 7th (207) Chiefs
2014 DT Caraun Reid, 5th (158) Lions
2016 TE Seth Devalve, 4th (138) Browns
2023 WR Andrei Iosivas, 6th (206) Bengals
Harvard (9)
1981 QB Brian Buckley, 11th (295)Patriots
1984 LB Joe Azelby, 10th (263) Bills
1985 T Roger Caron, 5th (117) Colt
1989 RB Tony Hinz, 11th (294), Patriot
1998 C Matt Birk, 6th (173) Vikings
2000 LB Isaiah Kacyvenski, 4th (119) Seahawks
2005 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, 7th (250) Rams
2013 TE Kyle Jusczyk, 4th (130) Ravens
2016 T Cole Toner, 5th (170) Cardinals
Brown (5)
1980 T John Sinnott, 3rd (60) Rams
1981 LB John Woodring, 6th (142) Jets
1982 TE Steve Jordan, 7th (179) Vikings
1999 WR Sean Morey, 7th (141) Patriots
2007 LS Zak DeOssie, 4th (116) Giants
Penn (5)
1991 C Joe Valerio, 2nd (50) Chiefs
1998 DE Mitch Marrow, 3rd (73) Panthers
1999 FB Jim Finn, 7th (253) Bears
2002 T Jeff Hatch, 3rd (78) Giants
2018 WR Justin Watson, 5th (144) Bucs
Cornell (5)
1984 RB Derrick Harmon, 9th (248) 49ers
1997 RB Chad Levitt, 4th (123) Raiders
1997 DT Seth Payne, 4th (114) Jaguars
2006 T Kevin Booth, 6th (176) Raiders
2013 T JC Tretter, 4th (122) Packers
Dartmouth (3)
1978 DE Gregg Robinson, 6th (142) Jets
1998 LB Zack Walz, 6th (158) Cardinals
2004 TE Casey Cramer, 7th (228) Bucs
Columbia (2)
1984 QB John Witkowski, 6th (16) Lions
1997 DE Marcellus Wiley, 2nd (52) Bills
A reminder: The NFL Draft was cut from 12 rounds to seven in 1993.
And for those of you wondering, here's the list of the top-15 FCS producers of NFL draft picks since 1978:
Jackson State 43
Grambling 36
Tennessee State 33
Northwestern State 26
Eastern Kentucky 23
Southern 23
Montana 22
Florida A&M 21
Appalachian State 20
Northern Arizona 20
Northern Iowa 18
Alcorn 17
Chattanooga 17
North Carolina A&T 16
Richmond 16
#
EXTRA POINT
I finished the e-book I borrowed from the Vermont state library and later today will jump back into the novel I left behind when the e-book became available. If you remember, when I put the novel down in favor of the e-book I asked AI to summarize the first 16 chapters in 500 words (without any spoilers) so I could hit the ground running when I picked the novel back up. I'll let you know in a day or two how that worked. I'm optimistic, but we'll see. ;-)
