Brant Sanderlin/AJC
UGA KR/WR Isaiah McKenzie was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.

Georgia football has the 11th-best NFL draft streak in the country

Posted 2 years ago

Welcome to your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes every Monday through Friday. It was a lean year for UGA in the NFL draft, but the Bulldogs managed to keep a quarter-century-long streak alive.

Track: 25 Or 6 To 4 | Artist: Chicago | Album: Chicago II

The streak (barely) continues

As expected, Isaiah McKenzie was the lone Georgia Bulldog picked in the 2017 NFL Draft, going to the Denver Broncos in the fifth round. It’s the worst year for UGA in a draft since no players were selected in 1992, and fell just behind 2014 when the Bulldogs only had two players taken.

But the Broncos’ selection of McKenzie did keep alive a streak dating back to the ’92 draft. UGA has now gone 25 consecutive seasons with at least one player selected in the draft, good enough for the 11th-best streak in college football and the second-best streak in the SEC. Michigan and USC hold the record, with a player picked in each of the last 79 years, while Florida tops the SEC with a player going every year for the past 66 years.

Active streaks of consecutive years with at least 1 player taken in the #NFLDraft. #GoBlue #FightOn pic.twitter.com/LCU3mUWRVq

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) April 30, 2017

Although this year and 2014 were lean for Georgia in the draft, the Bulldogs still are one of the top 10 teams at producing NFL talent over the last decade. Reddit user ktffan broke down each school by “by total picks, round by round and total points (255 for pick 1, 254 for pick 2, etc.) for the last 10 NFL drafts.” By those metrics, the Dawgs shake out as the ninth-best talent-producing program of the past decade.

School	Total	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Points
Alabama	65	22	15	7	6	7	1	7	11534
LSU	65	11	8	17	7	6	5	11	9500
USC	62	13	11	9	11	4	8	6	9560
Ohio St.	56	14	11	6	8	3	6	8	8615
Florida	55	14	8	7	9	8	4	5	8569
Oklahoma	51	5	7	6	12	6	7	8	6727
Clemson	50	8	8	4	11	9	6	4	7169
Florida St.	49	9	12	3	4	8	8	5	7292
Georgia	49	7	2	9	8	9	6	8	6322
Miami (FL)	45	5	4	10	8	3	10	5	5893

If we’re being generous, we can also look at two former Bulldogs who were drafted as well, both of whom are defensive backs from the infamous recruiting class of 2013. Lamar cornerback Brendan Langley was drafted by the Broncos in the third round and Louisville safety Josh Harvey-Clemons went to Washington in the seventh round.

West Georgia runs the state

Here’s something that’ll smart for some Georgia fans: West Georgia football had more players picked in the 2017 draft than Georgia.

Division II school West Georgia currently has more picks in this draft than Georgia. pic.twitter.com/JSlWH8bOXC

— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) April 29, 2017

If it makes you feel any better, West Georgia also had more than Georgia Tech, which also only had one.

UGA’s undrafted free agents

Although only one Bulldog was drafted, a handful of former Dawgs will get a shot in the NFL as undrafted free agents. It’s a difficult road, for sure, but they can take solace in the fact that former UGA center David Andrews went undrafted in 2015, only to win the Super Bowl as starting center for the Patriots two years later. So, just because we didn’t hear these names on draft day doesn’t mean we won’t hear them on an NFL broadcast in the future:

Quincy Mauger – Atlanta Falcons
Brandon Kublanow – Baltimore Ravens
Greg Pyke – Buffalo Bills
Tyler Catalina – Washington
Maurice Smith – Miami Dolphins

Another SEC title for UGA tennis

Georgia men’s tennis won yet another SEC title this past weekend when it defeated Mississippi State to win the SEC Tournament. It’s the 10th SEC Tournament triumph for the Bulldogs in the history of the program and the first since 2013. Georgia men’s tennis also has 31 SEC regular-season crowns to its name.

“We knew this was going to be a tough match, beginning with doubles,” coach Manny Diaz said. “Our team had to battle through two very physical matches the last two days, and I am so proud of how they responded. We are a young team that has matured so much since January. We are banged up but showed so much resiliency to win this tournament. I could not be more proud of these guys.”

Next up for UGA is the NCAA Tournament beginning May 12. Georgia will find out its opponent and first-round destination during the selection show at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Regular season and conference champs! #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/fKFzevrZrJ

— Georgia Tennis (@UGAtennis) April 30, 2017

Kevin Kisner holes out to force playoff

Former Bulldog Kevin Kisner and teammate Scott Brown are still in contention for a win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, thanks to this unbelievable eagle shot from Kisner on the 18th to to force a playoff with Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith.