With the 5th overall selection of the NFL Draft…
That's not a sentence most think will end with a player from the Mid-American Conference. Recently, it has become a reality.
In the last two seasons, the NFL Draft’s first five picks have yielded a player from a MAC school, including this year’s fifth-overall selection, Khalil Mack.
The MAC is beginning to grow and develop players such as Mack and Eric Fisher, the No. 1 pick in 2013, who are continuing to help brand the conference.
Buffalo coach Jeff Quinn said a reason it's being talked about is because of the success of former Central Michigan and current San Francisco 49er offensive tackle Joe Staley.
Staley, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, was picked 28th overall in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
“Joe Staley was a guy I coached at Central,” Quinn said. “Because of his first-round pick, they did a lot of comparisons (with MAC prospects). Joe did a great job competing at the NFL level for the 49ers, even competing for the Pro Bowl for a few years.”
Believe it or not, Super Bowl XLV included 15 former MAC players, trailing only the Southeastern Conference (18) in players represented.
It’s fair to say that the MAC is starting to be viewed as a conference that is giving players the ability to showcase their talents, even if these players don’t get the media attention that those at Big Ten or SEC schools receive.
“The SEC had the most (players), but guess who had the second-most playing for the Super Bowl? The MAC,” Quinn said. “There are a lot of players in our league who have the opportunity to go on and play. Why? Because they get to play in our league and they can compete early and often, which affords them a lot of opportunity for development on the field and showcasing their talent.”
This new possibility doesn’t just affect players currently on the rosters of the 13 MAC teams, but it plays a role in recruiting talent. A high-school football player can now think, “they did it, so why can’t I?”
“I think that’s huge in recruiting,” Kent State coach Paul Haynes said. “When you think of other teams in other conferences, they sell their conference more than they sell their school. That’s something that teams in this conference can do now.”
In the end it all comes down to fulfilling the wants of the recruits. With the success in NFL Free Agency and the NFL Draft coming from the MAC in recent years, playing professional football become a realistic and attainable goal for MAC football players.
“It’s all about dreams,” Haynes said. “I think that every player you recruit has the dream of going to the NFL, and now it’s something that can be not only attainable as a free agent, but somebody getting drafted in the first round."
“It does but a little added ‘carrot’ out there for a player who wants to be a great, and if you are a player in this league that is great, you have the opportunity.”
Quinn admits it’s surreal to have coached a player like Mack and now see him on a national scale, but he said the MAC still has much to come in the future, including this upcoming season.
“What’s exciting is that those type of players are in our league and we’re competing against them,” Quinn said. “This year will be better than any other year, that’s just my feeling about the Mid-American Conference.”
@Alex_Busch91
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