Oregon, Big Ten newcomers make splash in NFL Draft: 'Proof is in the pudding'

Fox News

29-04-2025

One hundred and one picks had come and gone when Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton, a first-team All-Big Ten performer who caught 96 passes for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns last season, finally heard his name called as the Minnesota Vikings made the final choice of the NFL Draft's third round. Felton became the first of six Terrapins to be selected over the weekend in what was the program's most fruitful draft since 1986.
"Incredibly excited to get him," general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a video posted on the Vikings' social media accounts. "He's somebody that kind of jumps off the tape. You talk about play demeanor, how it looks to see somebody compete on a football field, and I think with him, it immediately jumps out to you. The passion he plays the game with when he has the ball in his hands, when he's running routes, when he's throwing his body in there to block — you can tell this guy wants his team to win. He'd do anything for [the] team."
When the dust settled after three long days of player acquisition, Maryland had produced the 10th-most draft picks of any school in the country. The Terrapins sat fourth in the Big Ten behind Ohio State (14), Oregon (10) and Michigan (7) despite finishing 4-8 overall and winning just a single conference game last fall, their worst season since head coach Mike Locksley debuted in 2019. Felton was joined by linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II (Chicago Bears) in the fourth round, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (Miami Dolphins) and safety Dante Trader (Miami Dolphins) in the fifth round and wide receiver Kaden Prather (Buffalo Bills) and defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote (Dallas Cowboys) in the seventh round.
Adding Maryland's impressive group of draftees to three players selected from Rutgers and two players selected from Nebraska results in the highest combined yield for three programs that joined the Big Ten during the conference's initial wave of 21st-century expansion in the early 2010s. Their 11 combined draft picks in 2025 represented 15.5% of the league's 71 total selections and exceeded the trio's previous high-water mark of eight — a number reached in both 2023, when they accounted for 14.5% of the league's draft choices, and 2016, when they were responsible for 17% of the league's picks. In the 11 drafts since all three schools began competing in the Big Ten, they've contributed 63 of the conference's 497 total draft choices for a rate of 12.7%.
Ordinarily, this year's output would have been celebrated as a huge success for three programs still struggling to find a foothold in the Big Ten hierarchy. But any inkling of celebration was overshadowed quite resoundingly by the league's contingent of new kids on the block: Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. The West Coast schools, all of whom officially joined the conference last summer, kicked in 19 total draft picks that represented 26.8% of the Big Ten's pie, even as the Huskies and Trojans endured a down cycle with only four picks between them.
Nine of the newcomers' selections came in the first three rounds alone, headlined by Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon at No. 21 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers and his teammate, offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., at No. 29 overall to the Washington Commanders. Four slots later, at No. 33 overall, the Cleveland Browns selected UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger to give the former Pac-12 school as many top-40 selections as the entire Atlantic Coast Conference, reinforcing the Big Ten's place among the sport's elite and reminding everyone just how much talent resides in their region when it comes to recruiting.
"The West Coast has always had talent," said Yogi Roth, a former quarterbacks coach at USC who now works as an analyst for Big Ten Network and hosts the "Y-Option" podcast. "This year's NFL Draft proved that once again, especially in the Big Ten. Once NIL became a factor in college football, it was clear the West Coast schools would be able to recruit, retain or acquire [talent] in the portal with players choosing to stay home, return home or find a new home near the Pacific [Ocean]."
None of the newbies enjoyed a better weekend than reigning conference champion Oregon, which set a new school record with 10 players drafted, fourth nationally behind the Buckeyes, Georgia (13) and Texas (12). That six of those players were selected across the first three rounds in Harmon, Conerly, tight end Terrance Ferguson (No. 46 overall), defensive end Jordan Burch (No. 78 overall), defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell (No. 86 overall) and quarterback Dillon Gabriel (No. 94 overall) underscores the collection of high-end talent that guided the Ducks to the No. 1 overall seed in last year's College Football Playoff. Ohio State, which saw seven former Buckeyes drafted among the first 45 selections, was the only team in the country to have more players chosen in the first three rounds than Oregon.
Such an extraordinary showing reinforced the program's ascension under head coach Dan Lanning, now entering his fourth year at the helm. Lanning had already increased the number of Ducks selected in the NFL Draft from six in 2023 to eight in 2024, a new school record that would prove extremely short-lived. His total of 24 players drafted over the last three seasons is in the same realm as Ryan Day's first three years at Ohio State (26 draft picks) and surpasses the opening stretches for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan (16 draft picks) and Kirby Smart at Georgia (14) by significant margins. Lanning's current run of success includes six players taken in the first or second round of the last three drafts: Harmon, Conerly and Ferguson in 2025; quarterback Bo Nix (No. 12 overall) and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (No. 44 overall) in 2024; and defensive back Christian Gonzalez (No. 17 overall) in 2023.
"Proof is in the pudding, right?" Lanning said over the weekend when asked about this year's draft class during his post-spring game news conference. "I mean, you just look at it and you're setting the program record for guys being drafted in the NFL this year. Every year, our draft picks have gone up since we've been here. And that's really a credit to those players who have worked extremely hard [and are now] getting an opportunity to live out their dream. Really excited for them and really grateful for everything they did for Oregon."
For as comprehensive as the Ducks' presence was throughout this year's draft, the relative success for a struggling program like UCLA will likely be considered the league's most pleasant surprise. Only twice in the last decade have the Bruins, who finished 5-7 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten during head coach DeShaun Foster's first season, produced more selections in a single cycle than the five they put forth over the weekend. They sent six to the pros in 2022 under former coach Chip Kelly, now of the Las Vegas Raiders, and had eight players drafted in 2016 under Kelly's predecessor, Jim L. Mora, who is now at UConn.
The Bruins' leading figure in the 2025 draft was undoubtedly Schwesinger, a former walk-on chosen by the Cleveland Browns. Schwesinger's journey to becoming a second-round pick highlights a steep trajectory of individual growth across four years at UCLA, the totality of which Foster recognized by posting the word "DEVELOPMENT!!!" on social media shortly after the selection was made. For other players, like edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo (No. 52 overall) and tight end Moliki Matavao (No. 248 overall), reaching the NFL proved they had made productive decisions by transferring to UCLA after beginning their collegiate careers at California and Oregon, respectively. Foster can now spend the next few months telling recruits he sent more players to the pros this year than programs like Tennessee, Auburn, Clemson, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Florida State. That's not a bad recruiting pitch to make.
"I don't see this slowing down," Roth said. "And I think the four new additions to the Big Ten will continue to bolster the league's reputation as one of the top leagues in college football."
They only needed one draft to make the kind of splash that the Big Ten's previous batch of inductees had rarely, if ever, managed.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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