TJ Jones (7)

2015 Notre Dame Draft Notes

April 30, 2015

Since the National Football League began drafting players in 1936 – starting with the initial draft on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia – 485 Notre Dame football players have been chosen by NFL teams, according to the NFL.

  • Notre Dame’s 485 players drafted is the most of any school. USC is second on the list with 483.
  • Sixty-four Notre Dame players have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Only USC (77) and Ohio State (71) have had more.
    • Notre Dame had a school record four players chosen in the first round of the 1946 and 1993 drafts, respectively
  • The Irish have had five players (tied with USC for most) chosen as the first pick in the entire draft-QB Angelo Bertelli by Boston in 1944, QB Frank Dancewicz by Boston in 1946, E Leon Hart by Detroit in 1950, B Paul Hornung by Green Bay in 1957 and DT Walt Patulski by Buffalo in 1972.
  • In 1936, Bill Shakespeare was not only the first Notre Dame player drafted into the NFL but also the program’s inaugural first-round selection (third overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers).

Most Picks by School

Picks School No. 1 Picks First-Rounders First Rounders (2010s)
485 Notre Dame 5 64 4
483 USC 5 77 3
412 Ohio State 3 71 1
367 Oklahoma 3 43 5
350 Nebraska 3 33 2
345 Michigan 2 44 2
336 Tennessee 2 44 4
335 Penn State 2 36 1
332 Texas 3 42 1
318 Miami 2 59
316 Florida 0 46 7
  • Here’s a listing of first-round selections by current NFL teams with the overall pick in parentheses:
1936 B Bill Shakespeare, Pittsburgh Pirates (3)
1944 QB Angelo Bertelli, Boston (1)
B Creighton Miller, Brooklyn (3)
1945 B Frank Szymanski, Detroit (6)
E John Yonakor, Philadelphia (9)
1946 QB Frank Dancewicz, Boston (1)
QB John Lujack, Chicago (4)
T George Connor, New York Giants (5)
B Emil Sitko, Los Angeles Rams (10)
1949 QB Frank Tripucka, Philadelphia (9)
G Bill Fischer, Chicago Cardinals (10)
1950 E Leon Hart, Detroit Lions (1)
1951 B Bob Williams, Chicago Bears (2)
C Jerry Groom, Chicago Cardinals (6)
1954 T Art Hunter, Green Bay Packers (3)
B John Lattner, Pittsburgh Steelers (7)
B Neil Worden, Philadelphia Eagles (9)
1955 QB Ralph Guglielmi, Washington Redskins (3)
T Frank Varrichione, Pittsburgh Steelers (6)
B Joe Heap, New York Giants (8)
1957 B Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers (1)
1959 B Nick Pietrosante, Detroit Lions (6)
1960 QB George Izo, St. Louis Cardinals (2)
E Monty Stickles, San Francisco 49ers (11)
1965 WR Jack Snow, Minnesota Vikings (8)
1967 DT Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings (15)
G Tom Regner, Houston Oilers (23)
G Tom Seiler, New York Jets (12)
1968 DE Kevin Hardy, New Orleans Saints (7)
1969 T George Kunz, Atlanta Falcons (2)
E Jim Seymour, Los Angeles Rams (10)
1970 DT Mike McCoy, Green Bay Packers (2)
1972 DE Walt Patulski, Buffalo Bills (1)
DB Clarence Ellis, Atlanta Falcons (15)
DT Mike Kadish, Miami Dolphins (25)
1975 DT Mike Fanning, Los Angeles Rams (9)
1976 DT Steve Niehaus, Seattle Seahawks (2)
1978 TE Ken MacAfee, San Francisco 49ers (7)
DE Ross Browner, Cincinnati Bengals (8)
DB Luther Bradley, Detroit Lions (11)
1980 RB Vagas Ferguson, New England Patriots (25)
1982 LB Bob Crable, New York Jets (23)
1983 TE Tony Hunter, Buffalo Bills (12)
1984 RB Greg Bell, Buffalo Bills (26)
1986 DT Eric Dorsey, New York Giants (19)
1988 WR Tim Brown, Los Angeles Raiders (6)
1989 OT Andy Heck, Seattle Seahawks (15)
1991 CB Todd Lyght, Los Angeles Rams (5)
1992 TE Derek Brown, New York Giants (14)
1993 QB Rick Mirer, Seattle Seahawks (2)
FB Jerome Bettis, Los Angeles Rams (10)
CB Tom Carter, Washington Redskins (17)
TE Irv Smith, New Orleans Saints (20)
1994 DT Bryant Young, San Francisco 49ers (7)
OG Aaron Taylor, Green Bay Packers (16)
FS Jeff Burris, Buffalo Bills (27)
1997 DE Renaldo Wynn, Jacksonville Jaguars (21)
1999 OT Luke Petitgout, New York Giants (19)
2003 C Jeff Faine, Cleveland Browns (21)
2007 QB Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns (22)
2012 WR Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals (13)
S Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings (29)
2013 TE Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (21)
2014 OL Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys (16)
  • No school has been more consistent in terms of supplying players to the NFL. Notre Dame has had a player selected in 77 of the 79 NFL Drafts (only misses were in 1937 and 1977*). Oklahoma has also had a player chosen in 77 of 79 NFL Drafts.

Most Drafts With Picks (1936-2014, 79 drafts)

Drafts School Drafts with no selections
77 Notre Dame 1937, ’77*
77 Oklahoma 1962, ’95
74 USC 1936, ’37, ’38, ’43, ’46
72 Tennessee 1937, ’38, ’39, ’48, ’50, ’54, ’63
71 Michigan 1936, ’37, ’38, ’40, ’47, ’50, ’55, ’61
69 Alabama 1946, ’47, ’50, ’57, ’58, ’60, ’61, ’70, ’78, ’05
67 Texas 1936, ’37, ’39, ’40, ’45, ’46, ’54, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’14
66 Florida 1936, ’37, ’38, ’39, ’41, ’42, ’44, ’46, ’47, ’48, ’49, ’51, ’52
66 Nebraska 1942, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’46, ’48, ’50, ’52, ’54, ’56, ’58, ’59, ’62
64 Miami, Fla. 1936, ’37, ’39, ’43, ’44, ’46, ’48, ’49, ’50, ’54, ’55, ’58, ’59, ’61, ’74
64 Penn State 1936, ’37, ’38, ’39, ’40, ’42, ’44, ’45, ’46, ’48, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’05

* Al Hunter was selected in the 1977 NFL supplemental draft

  • With Texas failing to have a player selected in the 2014 NFL Draft, Notre Dame has the longest streak of at least one player drafted at 77 straight years (when including the NFL supplemental draft).
  • Notre Dame became the first school to ever produce three of the first five NFL Draft picks in a single year. In 1946, Frank Dancewicz went No. 1, Johnny Lujack went No. 4 and George Connor went No. 5. Remarkably, Emil Sitko went No. 10.
    • In addition to the Irish in ’46, Oklahoma (’10), Michigan State (’67) and USC (’77) each had three top-five selections in a single draft.
  • Notre Dame was the first school to ever produce four of the first 10 NFL Draft picks in a single year as well.
    • In addition to the Irish in ’46, Michigan State (’67) had four top-10 selections in a single draft.
  • Notre Dame and Oklahoma are the only two schools that have ever produced the top pick in consecutive NBA (Austin Carr went No. 1 in 1971) and NFL (Walt Patulski went No. 1 in the 1972) Drafts. Oklahoma had Blake Griffin (NBA) and Sam Bradford (NFL) in 2010.

Irish Drafted by Position

Pos. Total First Rounders Last First-Rounder (Year) Last Overall (Year)
OT 60 6 Luke Petitgout (1999) Sam Young (2010)
DB 54 6 Harrison Smith (2012) Bennett Jackson (2014)
OG 54 4 Zack Martin (2014) Zack Martin, Chris Watt (2014)
LB 53 1 Bob Crable (1982) Prince Shembo (2014)
RB 37 7 Jerome Bettis (1993) Theo Riddick (2013)
C 30 4 Jeff Faine (2003) Eric Olsen (2010)
DT 27 7 Bryant Young (1994) Louis Nix III (2014)
TE 27 6 Tyler Eifert (2013) Troy Niklas (2014)
QB 21 9 Brady Quinn (2007) Jimmy Clausen (2010)
DE 21 4 Renaldo Wynn (1997) Stephon Tuitt (2014)
WR 20 4 Michael Floyd (2012) TJ Jones (2014)
FB 10 2 Nick Pietrosante (1959) Marc Edwards (1997)
P 3 0 None Hunter Smith (1999)
K 1 0 None Bob Thomas (1974)

Defunct Position Names

Back 38 2 Creighton Miller (1944) Tom MacDonald (1964)
End 29 2 Leon Hart (1950) Phil Sheridan (1966)

Irish Picks by Current NFL Team

Picks Team First Rounders
41 Bears Bob Williams (1951), Johnny Lujack (1946)
35 Steelers Frank Varrichione (1955), Johnny Lattner (1954), Bill Shakespeare (1936)
34 Redskins Tom Carter (1993), Ralph Guglielmi (1955)
30 Rams Jerome Bettis (1993), Todd Lyght (1991), Mike Fanning (1975)
Jim Seymour (1969), Emil Sitko (1946)
27 Eagles Neil Worden (1954), Frank Tripucka (1949), John Yonakor (1945)
27 Cardinals Michael Floyd (2012), George Izo (1960), Jerry Groom (1951)
Bill Fischer (1949)
26 Packers Aaron Taylor (1994), Mike McCoy (1970), Paul Hornung (1957)
Art Hunter (1954)
21 Giants Luke Petitgout (1999), Derek Brown (1992), Eric Dorsey (1986)
Joe Heap (1955), George Connor (1946)
20 49ers Bryant Young (1994), Ken MacAfee (1978), Monty Stickles (1960)
18 Bills Jeff Burris (1994), Greg Bell (1984), Tony Hunter (1983)
Walt Patulski (1972)
18 Lions Luther Bradley (1978), Nick Pietrosante (1959), Leon Hart (1950), Frank Szymanski (1945)
17 Patriots Vagas Ferguson (1980)
15 Browns Brady Quinn (2007), Jeff Faine (2003)
15 Chiefs None
13 Chargers None
12 Colts None
11 Saints Irv Smith (1993), Kevin Hardy (1968)
10 Broncos None
10 Vikings Harrison Smith (2012), Alan Page (1967), Jack Snow (1965)
10 Falcons Clarence Ellis (1972), George Kunz (1969)
9 Bengals Tyler Eifert (2013), Ross Browner (1978)
9 Dolphins Mike Kadish (1972)
9 Titans Tom Regner (1967)
9 Cowboys Zack Martin (2014)
8 Raiders Tim Brown (1988)
8 Seahawks Rick Mirer (1993), Andy Heck (1989), Steve Niehaus (1976)
7 Jets Bob Crable (1982), Paul Seiler (1967)
6 Buccaneers None
5 Ravens None
3 Jaguars Renaldo Wynn (1997)
3 Texans None
2 Panthers None
  • The Bears franchise has selected the most Notre Dame players (41). The Steelers are next with 35. The Rams (30) and Giants (21) have drafted the most Irish players in the first round with five apiece.

Most Notre Dame Players Selected
16 – 1946 (32 rounds)
15 – 1945 (32 rounds)
13 – 1950 (30 rounds)
11 – 1954 (30 rounds), 1959 (30 rounds), 1969 (15 rounds)
10 – 1944 (32 rounds), 1948 (32 rounds), 1956 (30 rounds), 1975 (12 rounds), 1979 (12 rounds), 1991 (12 rounds), 1994 (seven rounds)

  • The most Notre Dame players ever taken in a single draft was 16 in 1946 haul. While the draft included 32 rounds, the 16 Irish players went in the top 20 rounds. Four Notre Dame players went in the top-10 selections (Frank Dancewicz, QB; Johnny Lujack, QB; George Connor, T; Emil Sitko, B)
    • The rest of the ’46 draft class included Elmer Angsman (third round), Ed Mieszkowski, (seventh), Pete Berezney (seventh), Bob Skoglund (ninth), Joe Signaigo (10th), George Strohmeyer (13th), Bob Palladino (14th), Fred Rovai (15th), Gasper Urban (17th), Jerry Ford (17th), Bill Heywood (20th) and Frank Ruggerio (20th).
  • The NFL Draft went through several reductions in rounds. It became seven rounds in 1994.
  • The most Irish players drafted in the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame is eight (2014).

Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Round
4 – 1946, 1993
3 – 1954, 1955, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1994
2 – 1944, 1945, 1949, 1951, 1960, 1969, 2012
1 – 1936, 1950, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2013, 2014

Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Two Rounds
6 – 1993
5 – 1967
4 – 1946, 1954, 1955, 1978, 1990, 1994
3 – 1949, 1969, 1972, 1980, 1991, 2014

Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Three Rounds
7 – 1994
6 – 1967, 1993
5 – 1946, 1955, 1978, 2014
4 – 1949, 1954, 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997

Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Seven Rounds
10 – 1994
8 – 1945, 1955, 1972, 1993, 2014
7 – 1946, 1950, 1954, 1967, 1978, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2007

Consecutive Years with First-Rounders
4 – 1967-70, 1991-94
3 – 1944-46, 1949-51, 1982-84, 2012-14

Consecutive Years with Pick in First Three Rounds
18 – 1982-1999
8 – 2001-08
7 – 1964-70
5 – 1972-76, 2010-14

Consecutive Years with Irish Player Drafted
39 – 1938-1976
36 – 1978-2014*

* indicates active streak