Six Former Hawkeyes Hear their Name Called in the NFL Draft

For the second consecutive year, six Iowa Hawkeye football players were selected in the NFL Draft.

Twelve players drafted in the last two years ranks third-best among college football programs. Only USC (16) and Florida (13) have had more players taken in that span.

Here’s a breakdown of who was selected:

– All-American defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn was the first Hawkeye picked — going 20th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Clayborn is the fifth Iowa player in the Kirk Ferentz era to be taken in the first round.

Photo from OrlandoSentinel.com

– Fellow defensive linemen Christian Ballard was taken in the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings. Projected to be possibly a second or third round selection, Ballard’s draft stock may have dropped slightly after it was discovered he tested positive for marijuana at the combine in February.

– Quarterback Ricky Stanzi was the third Hawkeye taken, going in the fifth round to the Kansas City Chiefs. His teammates include fellow former Hawkeyes Tony Moeaki and Casey Wiegmann. Stanzi is the first Iowa quarterback to be drafted since Matt Rodgers went in the 12th round to Buffalo in the 1992 draft.

– Defensive lineman Karl Klug and offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde were also picked in the fifth round. Klug, a second-team All-Big Ten player, was selected by the Tennessee Titans, while Vandervelde went to the Philadelphia Eagles.

– The last Hawkeye to go off the board was safety Tyler Sash. He was taken in the sixth round by the New York Giants.

Punter Ryan Donahue, wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, tight end Allen Reisner, safety Brett Greenwood and linebackers Jeremiha Hunter and Jeff Tarpinian went undrafted. With the NFL Lockout still in place, they are unable to sign with NFL teams until an agreement is reached.

It will be interesting to see if any elect to play in the United Football League. The UFL Draft is May 2.