COLUMBUS – The NFL draft, which begins Thursday night and wraps up Saturday, will sport a scarlet and gray color scheme.
At least three of the projected top picks played for Ohio State, at least at some point during their college football careers.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the presumptive first overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, is a native of Athens and played for the Buckeyes before graduating from Ohio State and transferring to LSU.
The top defensive player in the draft is widely considered to be Buckeye end Chase Young, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting and led the nation in sacks.
Cornerback Jeff Okudah is considered a likely top-10 pick and, if he and Young are each taken within the first five picks – which has been projected by many experts – it will be the second time Ohio State has had two players taken in the top five in the last five years, Joey Bosa was the No. 3 pick and Ezekiel Elliott was the fifth pick in 2016.
Some observers say it isn’t inconceivable that Buckeyes could be taken with the top three picks.
Ohio State is positioned to overtake Southern California for the most first-round selections in NFL Draft history. Both the Buckeyes and Trojans currently have 81 all-time first-round selections.
Ohio State also had two Top 5 picks in 1997, when Orlando Pace was the overall No. 1 pick and Shawn Springs was the No. 3 pick.
Over the last five years, Ohio State has had 12 first-round picks, second only to Alabama, and has more first-round picks in the last 20 years (131) than any other school.