North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz may be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft this year, although a number of mocks also have him falling outside of the top ten, too. It’s early in draft season, but I thought it would be fun to look at just how weird it would be to have someone from NDSU be selected in the top ten.
The table below shows all players drafted in the top ten since 1967 (the first year of the common draft) from non-Division 1 or FBS schools. The last? Steve McNair, who played at Alcorn State, back in 1995.
| Year | Name | Pick | Pos | School | AV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Steve McNair | 3 | QB | Alcorn State | 100 |
| 1991 | Eric Swann | 6 | DT | Wake Technical CC | 46 |
| 1979 | Phil Simms | 7 | QB | Morehead State | 91 |
| 1976 | James Hunter | 10 | DB | Grambling State | 42 |
| 1975 | Walter Payton | 4 | RB | Jackson State | 128 |
| 1975 | Robert Brazile | 6 | LB | Jackson State | 86 |
| 1975 | Gary Johnson | 8 | DT | Grambling State | 72 |
| 1974 | Too Tall Jones | 1 | DE | Tennessee State | 97 |
| 1974 | Waymond Bryant | 4 | LB | Tennessee State | 28 |
| 1973 | Wally Chambers | 8 | DT | Eastern Kentucky | 55 |
| 1972 | Lionel Antoine | 3 | T | Southern Illinois | 14 |
| 1972 | Jerome Barkum | 9 | TE | Jackson State | 63 |
| 1971 | Dan Pastorini | 3 | QB | Santa Clara | 55 |
| 1971 | Richard Harris | 5 | DE | Grambling State | 27 |
| 1971 | Joe Profit | 7 | RB | Louisiana-Monroe | 5 |
| 1971 | Frank Lewis | 8 | WR | Grambling State | 60 |
| 1971 | Isiah Robertson | 10 | LB | Southern (LA) | 110 |
| 1970 | Terry Bradshaw | 1 | QB | Louisiana Tech | 106 |
| 1970 | Ken Burrough | 10 | WR | Texas Southern | 67 |
| 1968 | Claude Humphrey | 3 | DE | Tennessee State | 92 |
| 1968 | Haven Moses | 9 | WR | San Diego State | 61 |
One can also include Marty Domres, drafted by the Chargers with the 9th pick in 1969 out of Columbia, as the Ivy League probably should be included in this group for these purposes.