Who will have best draft, ACC or SEC?
I assume that most of you will be watching the NFL Draft on Saturday. So, as a public service, here are some ACC and SEC Draft notes you can use to impress your friends during the broadcast. Thanks to Mike Finn of the ACC and Charles Bloom of the SEC for passing a lot of this stuff along.
So who is going to have the best draft, the ACC or the SEC? In the past five drafts the ACC has had 176 picks while the SEC has had 191. The ACC has had 31 first round picks (with a staggering 12 in 2006) while the SEC has had 37 first-round selections in those five drafts.
In four of the last five drafts the SEC has had the most picks but the ACC has almost always been a close second. The ACC blew everybody away with 51 total picks in 2006. Over the past five drafts the SEC and ACC are 1-2 in total selections.
Here is a quick look at how the six major conferences have fared in the last five NFL Drafts. After that will be some notes and charts you can use at your draft parties. See you Monday.
TOTAL SELECTIONS IN LAST FIVE NFL DRAFTS
Year—–ACC—–SEC—–BE—–BT—–B12—-Pac-10
2004—–25——-42——-28——44—–23——–28
2005—–36——-37——–8——-30—–34——–33
2006—–51——-37——-11——-41—–29——-32
2007—–31——-41——-16——-32—–28——-28
2008—–33——-34——-19——-28—–29——-34
TOTAL-176——191——-82——175–143——155
ACC DRAFT NOTES
**–Over the past three years, the ACC has had 25 players taken in the first round of the draft, more than any other conference.
**–In that same three-year span, the ACC has had 115 players drafted, more than any other conference.
**–In the past three years, the first defensive player taken in the NFL Draft has been from the ACC: Mario Williams, N.C. State (2006), Gaines Adams, Clemson (2007), Chris Long, Virginia (2008). No other conference has done that.
**–Miami has had a player taken in the first round for 14 consecutive seasons. That streak is expected is expected to end on Saturday. The streak began when DT Warren Sapp was taken in the first round in 1995.
**–Miami has had at least one player taken in the draft for 34 consecutive seasons. Virginia and Florida State have had at least one player taken in the draft for 25 consecutive seasons.
**–Since 1993 Florida State has had 100 players taken in the NFL Draft. That’s more than any other school.
**–The most first round selections ever from the ACC was 12 in 2006.
SEC DRAFT NOTES
**–Since 1997, the SEC has had 465 players drafted, an average of 38 per year.
**–The SEC has either led or been tied for the lead in most draft selections in 9 of the past 11 years.
**–The most first round selections ever from the SEC was 11 in 2007.
**–Three times in the past 11 drafts the SEC has had double digits selections in the first round: 1998 (10); 2005 (10); 2007 (11). The ACC has done it once (2006). No other conference has had double-digit draft picks in that time span.
**–The SEC had four players selected in the first 10 picks of the 2008 Draft (Darren McFadden, Arkansas (4), Glenn Dorsey, LSU (5), Derrick Harvey, Florida (8) and Jerod Mayo, Tennessee (10)).
**–LSU has had a player taken in the first round for five consecutive drafts.
**–The SEC has 14 players who are leaving early for the NFL Draft led by Georgia QB Matthew Stafford, Florida WR Percy Harvin, Alabama OT Andre Smith, and LSU DT Ricky Jean-Francois.
**–If Georgia’s Matthew Stafford is taken No. 1 by Detroit, he will become the fourth Georgia player and the 16th in SEC history to be the top overall pick. Can you name the other 15? Glad you asked: JaMarcus Russell, LSU (2007); Eli Manning, Ole Miss (2004); Tim Couch, Kentucky (1999); Peyton Manning, Tennessee (1998); Aundray Bruce, Auburn (1988); Bo Jackson, Auburn (1986); Joe Namath, Alabama (1965, AFL); Tucker Frederickson, Auburn (1965, NFL); Billy Cannon, LSU (1960); Harry Babcock, Georgia (1953); Bill Wade, Vanderbilt (1952); Harry Gilmer, Alabama (1948); Charley Trippi, Georgia (1947); Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, (1943); George Cafego, Tennessee, (1940).
Want to compare conferences? Try these two charts
TOTAL DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1997
YEAR—————-ACC————SEC
1997—————-22—————-25
1998—————-29—————-40
1999—————31—————–37
2000—————23—————–41
2001—————21—————–40
2002—————18—————–47
2003—————17—————–43
2004—————25—————–42
2005————–36——————37
2006————–51——————37
2007————–31——————41
2008————–33——————35
TOTAL———–337—————-465
AVG.————28.1————–38.75
FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1993
YEAR————–ACC————–SEC
1993—————4——————6
1994—————2——————6
1995—————3——————3
1996—————1——————4
1997—————8——————4
1998—————7—————-10
1999—————4——————8
2000—————4——————6
2001—————4——————5
2002—————3——————6
2003—————1—————–4
2004—————1—————–6
2005—————5—————-10
2006————-12—————–4
2007—————6—————11
2008—————7—————-6
TOTAL————72————–99
AVG.————–4.50———6.19
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
96 comments Add your comment
GT
April 24th, 2009
5:15 pm
Maybe we miss the point in the way you framed this. I think the ACC is improving and the rest of the country including the SEC is backing up in the quality of its players. Try the next five years, the SEC will be more back in the pack and the ACC more even with the pack, it is called parity.
Cuz
April 24th, 2009
5:17 pm
A Stafford-Johnson combo could be something to watch if they can patch together a line in Motor City.
DawgGirl32
April 24th, 2009
5:50 pm
I’ve said it a hundred times: MoMass is going to be the biggest steal for a very lucky team. 30 out of 36 on the Wonderlic? Good for him. What a DGD.
T
April 24th, 2009
8:32 pm
Wrong.. wont be watching…
Who cares about the draft.. these are EX college football players… dont care about them anymore.
Come on Tony… this is the south… its all about college football
Bo Williams
April 24th, 2009
10:21 pm
In football, UNC did it with the best defense in the history of the school, a fact that ensuing National Football League drafts and free agency helped to confirm. In a two-year period, Carolina put 14 people in the league off the UNC defense alone.
At the start of ‘97, only Notre Dame and Florida State (which were tied for first) had more alumni playing in the NFL than Carolina.
SEC1
April 24th, 2009
11:07 pm
Ramble on: Insert crass, idiotic comments here…..
Abuzz52
April 25th, 2009
2:46 am
There have been only 3 drafts when the ACC had 12 members the previous fall, 2006,2007 and 2008. The first season the ACC had 12 members was the Fall of 2005.
Alan Laing
April 25th, 2009
7:23 am
You ignore the number of teams in the league during the years that you use. There are ways to deal with this by normalizing the data but you did not do this. Therefore any conclusions you imply are draw from the data presented are incorrect. If you wanted to normalize the data you divide the numbers by the teams in the league. This gives you average number of players chosen per team and can be used to compare leagues that have different number of teams.
m
April 25th, 2009
8:01 am
You have to realize that Tony is an sec homer gomer. He thinks the sec walks on water…but they don’t…ask Utah for example. Tony couldn’t even allow himself to consider that an inferior team from out west could come into the mecca of sec football, in new orleans, in the sugar bowl, and kick the living crap out of his beloved sec west champions alabammer.
He can’t conceive of the fact that the inferior acc went 6-6 headup with the sec last year. How could that happen when the sec is soooo much better?
The sec is a bullshiite conference based almost totally on hype by idiots like Tony. That is why the sec tries to play the weakest nonconference schedule of any major conference. Because every time the sec ventures out…they get exposed.
Also the reason a lot of sec homer gomers like Tony favor the bcs, is because due to hype and empty rhetoric, the sec gets placed in the faux championship game against a big 10 or 12 team and has an easy road to the faux championship instead of getting exposed in a 16 team playoff that would crown a true champion and not a faux champion.
To sum up, the sec is an overrated conference led by homer gomers like Tony. Sad, really.
Tony is the chan gailey of journalists (sic). Thank God and Greyhound that he is gone….he should have taken tony with him.
Cuz
April 25th, 2009
8:51 am
m, even the Tech fans are tired of your Thank God and Greyhound. Get some new material. I actually agree with you about the Mythical National Championship, it sounds better than faux championship though. I guess that is the difference between a UGA fan and a Tech fan. I gotta give Coach Johnson his due, he has made a believer out of his team and thus their fans.
GT
April 25th, 2009
9:50 am
This is the problem with this system. Teams like Southern Cal get slighted because they are on the west coast out of prime time and the SEC PR machine is running everybody over in the east, mainly because it has all the journalism schools. I really think Tony believes what he writes about Georgia but if you are listening to stuff from your best and oldest friends all day you get a little tilted look at Lewis Grizzard. God rest his soul. In some ways I like this it makes the season more colorful and it gets my juices flowing for the big game. The problem comes in when there is only two teams picked and the one with the biggest PR machine not always the football team gets the nod. I especially hate it when a northern school gets the nod because it will make for a better television market. How many teams do you get right in your basketball picks, same stuff here only the writers swear by their judgments and then have an alibi when they miss the call which happens a huge amount. This use to be for the fun of the game now it has turned to big money and a lot of the integrity has been thrown out the window yet the schools are still pretending to be virgins. Lets have a full blown playoff and keep non participates out of way.
GeoffDawg
April 25th, 2009
11:22 am
m – what is “living” crap? Is that a creature indigenous to north avenue in Atlanta?
SEC is King
April 25th, 2009
12:13 pm
m stands for moron.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 25th, 2009
12:24 pm
Draft is like high school recruits. Is the ACC or SEC leading in active players? You know players still picking up a PAYCHECK. That is what counts and I think that would be the ACC. My #’s maybe wrong but, I will let you check (with all your vast knowledge) as to witch conferences have the most players on NFL rosters.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 25th, 2009
12:32 pm
The ACC will have abetter draft for one reason: Fat Matt Staford is already over paid and will be holding a clipboard within 4 yrs. When the Lions need another QB and no team will buyout Fat Matt’s contract or trade for him.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 25th, 2009
12:38 pm
The ACC has already one this draft. If the Lions pay fat Matt $41 mil to hold a clipboard and need to draft another QB in 4 yrs when no team will trade for or buyout his contract the ACC wins.
Tide4u2c
April 25th, 2009
2:06 pm
m,
Again nothing would’ve changed with your 16 team playoff. Florida would’ve still won and you would be eating crow for years to come when you realize the big-named schools would still win in the end not the little named schools you try to prop up and make them into something they are not.You must like seeing the little named schools get beat by the bigger named schools like in college basketball in the playoffs.Go ahead and root for the underdog though because 1 out of 10 times they might actually surprise somebody.
AltamahaDawg
April 25th, 2009
2:06 pm
What part of the country is this “witch conference” located? Scary!
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:35 pm
TONY BARNHART—-I hate this blog software!! It just ate a post with the ACC NFL player totals. This version of WordPress does VERY QUIRKY things with numbered paragraphs and long posts, that is, it makes them disappear and won’t allow you to re-post identical text. Very strange.
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:37 pm
Here are the ACC and SEC totals of players on NFL rosters for the 2008 season:
331 SEC
298 ACC
Assuming my hand count was correct, the SEC has 11.07% more players represented on NFL rosters.
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:40 pm
1 Test
2 Test
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:43 pm
24 – Boston College
16 – Clemson
5 – Duke
38 – Florida State
23 – Georgia Tech
27 – Maryland
53 – Miami
22 – North Carolina
23 – North Carolina State
25 – Virginia
33 – Virginia Tech
14 – Wake Forest
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:44 pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/college?letter=a
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:47 pm
I just double-checked my math. I misread an 8 as a 3 and shorted the ACC five players. The actual totals are:
331 – SEC
303 – ACC
As of 2008, the SEC had 9.24% more players represented on NFL rosters.
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:49 pm
26 – Alabama
21 – Arkansas
36 – Auburn
38 – Florida
44 – Georgia
10 – Kentucky
45 – LSU
18 – Ole Miss
23 – Mississippi State
20 – South Carolina
37 – Tennessee
13 – Vanderbilt
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:58 pm
And just so we can argue about quality vs quantity, I include the following link to a July 2008 in the Houma, Louisiana newspaper with projected NFL starters by conference:
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20080706/OPINION01/617509449?Title=What-conferences-are-the-NFL-146-s-starters-coming-from-
Talent-wise, the ACC is clearly better than several of the other 5 BCS conferences. Makes me wonder why the ACC has such a history of under-performing in BCS games. (?)
Atlanta Gator
April 25th, 2009
2:58 pm
You’re welcome. = )
SEC is King
April 25th, 2009
7:18 pm
So far in the draft, looks like the SEC!!!
SugarHillDawg
April 25th, 2009
9:30 pm
OK, Ramble On(Beavis) one more 45-42 reference and I am coming to your mom’s basement and taking ALL your Star Wars DVDs! That goes for you too M if you say TGAG again!!
38-3
April 25th, 2009
9:52 pm
RAMBLE ON…How about this math. UGA 3 TECH 0 As in 3 UGA players drafted in the first 2 rounds (this year) to the big FAT goose egg for your insects! Sounds like SEC superiority ALL over again. Too bad, well there’s always NEXT year, isn’t that what you are used to saying?
Rabun Dawg
April 25th, 2009
10:08 pm
Who the H cares how many each conference has in the NFL!! I am very happy for Matthew, but I really care about what happens in the college game than about what happens on the NFL fields come Sept.!! Come on, what a silly discussion about who did what in the past! JMO!!
Rabun Dawg
April 25th, 2009
10:27 pm
Or the present!! Tony, I love to read your articles, but what does this have to do with what really matters to most of us? And M, please the Gailey and Greyhound has to cease! Just to let you know, My son is a Missionary in a 3rd world country, and when he came to the States for furlough with his family, Coach Gailey befriended him and stepped up and did them great favors, so whatever he may have had a shortcomings as a coach for GT, our family has the utmost regard for Chan Gailey as a fine man and someone who all of us would like to have on our side!!
Gator Nation
April 25th, 2009
11:19 pm
Atlanta Gator
Excellent data for analysis. Thanks. Here is the nugget that I gleaned from it:
Of the Big 6 teams in the SEC (Georgia, Florida, Tennesse, LSU, Auburn and Alabama) Alabama’s number of current NFL players is the number that doesn’t belong (to quote sesame street). Just shows you that Shula didn’t bring in the talent. Unfortunately, Saban will.
Second nugget: 53 current NFL players by Miami is very impressive.
staff fan now
April 26th, 2009
8:48 am
Mr Football Tony….watch your back….atl gator is after your job!
BigMike
April 26th, 2009
2:38 pm
Hey, I understand the Varsity just drafted 2 Tech players, they got a signing bonus of 3 chili dogs, hot fries, and a cold coke. Work hard and your signing bonus could get you a fried apple pie with a scoop of your favorite ice cream!
BigMike
April 26th, 2009
2:45 pm
The most wasted draft pick in this whole draft, will be Percy Harvin! No receiver from UF makes it in the NFL. He’ll be a bust in two years, or at best a 3rd receiver.
Sec fans
April 26th, 2009
3:44 pm
Sec fans are so obnoxious and arrogant. The past 3 years the acc has led the nation in draft picks. So shut up moron sec fan. The acc has just as much talent as your conference. I’d like to compare how close you are to the acc in basketball. LOL. Probably 10 acc players to 1 sec taken.
Shane
April 26th, 2009
4:07 pm
who cares about basketball?
AltamahaDawg
April 26th, 2009
4:14 pm
A third receiver in the NFL ain’t a bad gig.
Hey 38-3
April 26th, 2009
5:27 pm
Just like a Georgia fan to hang his hat on a game his team didn’t win. How does LSU beating us make Georgia worth anything? Okay then: 49-10!!
Yep, 3 first day picks just shows how crappy St. Richt is as a coach. You guys had 2 of the top 15 picks and still couldn’t beat Paul Johnson in his first year as head coach. Damn that must sting.
Tony,
It’s been pointed out before, but showing data before 2005 head-to-head is laughable. The ACC had 9 teams before that point to the SEC’s 12. Not to mention Miss St. and their JUCO “recruits” that would play one year and head to the league.
Tide4u2c
April 26th, 2009
7:57 pm
Wow! John Gruden(Chuckie) giving Alabma and Saban some love on preparing college players for the NFL.LOL! Is he lobbying for the Alabama job for sometime in the future?
SugarHillDawg
April 26th, 2009
9:40 pm
Hey Tom, Stafford made a 38. Hey Idiot Ramble On, Calvin Johnson STILL hasn’t met expectatations because of the QB’s throwing the ball to him-You’re the MORON!Oh yeah BTW, M, do you have the slightest inkling of just how STUPID you come off by saying TGAG! You sound like a FREAKING PARROT you result of a TORN CONDOM!!!!!!
BS Patrol
April 26th, 2009
11:46 pm
m & RAMBLE ON!!!, YOU ARE THE MEN!!!
Calvin Johnson had no way of knowing Gailey would not trust Ball to throw the ball downfield. All he got was tight roping the sidelines half of which Ball threw out of bounds. Gailey’s fault entirely.
I’ll bet PJ would throw the ball to him anywhere.
38-3 is that all you got? Pathetic!
BS Patrol
April 27th, 2009
1:17 am
38-3 is the dweeb that used to blog as Reality Yeck, yellowblood, etc. until he finally disappeared when he was run back into his hole by other bloggers.
He confirmed himself by blogging to his other aliases. God what a dork!
Image Patrol
April 27th, 2009
7:42 am
Did you just say “dweeb” and “God what a dork”? So, a 14 yr old pimple face kid is the mental picture you were going for there?
Gator Mike
April 27th, 2009
8:09 am
Mr. Barnhart, who really cares about the NFL draft numbers between the SEC and ACC? To me it is totally irrelevant. For us fans the only thing that matters is how our individual teams perform. For example, Mat Stafford is a gifted QB but he left UGA early for the $$ and he did not lead UGA to anything for the past 2 seasons. His loyalty to the Dawgs is suspect and his leadership skills need a lot of improvement, and I have heard that from my UGA friends. He should have stayed at UGA for his final year. (The same is true of Percy Harvin, and it is no secret that he is a great player and a marginal leader with suspect loyalty to UF.)
Stafford is a millionaire, but I hope he does not get ruined in Detriot. Afew years ago, Joey Harrington came out of Oregon as a superb QB, and he got mentally and physically destroyed in Detroit.
In my opinion, Mark Sanchez from the real USC is the QB who got the best long term opportunity in going to the Jets and I say this as a Falcon fan.
Regardless of the school, I salute the players who stay in school until their eligibility expires.
Go Gators!
Mike