The NFL Draft is in the books and now it’s time to review what happened over the busy three-day period. Here is a look at how the Big 12 programs played out.
MORE NFL DRAFT: Breaking down the ACC selections | Breaking down the Big Ten selections | Breaking down the SEC selections | Gorney’s takeaways | Where the first-rounders ranked in high school
TEXAS (11)
Drafted players: Byron Murphy, Xavier Worthy, T’Vondre Sweat, Jonathon Brooks, Adonai Mitchell, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Christian Jones, Keilan Robinson, Jaylan Ford, Ryan Watts, Jordan Whittington
Overview: Texas had a banner draft, a phenomenal haul and coming off the College Football Playoff, recruiting is at a fever pitch for coach Steve Sarkisian, who has finally turned the Longhorns into a legit national contender. This draft class should only help in recruiting as Murphy and Worthy were first-rounders, Sweat was a big surprise in the second round, Brooks was the first running back taken and Sanders was an absolute steal in the fourth.
With 11 selections, the Longhorns just obliterated their Big 12 foes in the draft.
*****
KANSAS STATE (3)
Drafted players: Ben Sinnott, Cooper Beebe, KT Leveston
Overview: Sinnott, who caught 49 passes for 676 yards and a team-high six touchdowns this year, was a second-round pick and that absolutely will help in recruiting when the Wildcats go after star four-star tight end Linkon Cure in the 2025 class.
Beebe, a former two-star defensive tackle, went in the third round and then Leveston was a seventh-round selection.
*****
OKLAHOMA (3)
Drafted players: Tyler Guyton, Walter Rouse, Jonah Laulu
Overview: A transfer from TCU, Guyton ended up as a late first-round pick and that could definitely help the Sooners with offensive line recruiting – if they need any help at all – since position coach Bill Bedenbaugh is one of the best in the business.
Other than Guyton it was a relatively quiet draft for the Sooners as Rouse went in the sixth round and Laulu in the seventh. Former Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick and Spencer Rattler was a fifth-round pick.
*****
TCU (3)
Drafted players: Brandon Coleman, Jared Wiley, Josh Newton
Overview: Three players coming out of TCU is not bad for the draft but it was a pretty low-key weekend for the Horned Frogs as Coleman was a third-round pick and Wiley was a fourth-rounder. Both were high three-stars coming out of high school and then Newton, ranked as a wide receiver, was drafted in the fifth.
*****
KANSAS (2)
Drafted players: Dominick Puni, Austin Booker
Overview: Lance Leipold is doing a phenomenal job at rebuilding the Kansas football program but it was a relatively quiet draft for the Jayhawks. Puni was a third-round selection and Booker went in the fifth after he had 56 tackles and eight sacks this season.
*****
TEXAS TECH (2)
Drafted players: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Myles Cole
Overview: Joey McGuire is recruiting well and building the program in Lubbock but it’s going to take at least a little while to cycle some of the older players out of the program as McGuire builds with higher-level recruits. It was a muted weekend for the Red Raiders as Taylor-Demerson went in the fourth and Cole was a seventh-rounder.
*****
UCF (2)
Drafted players: Javon Baker, Tylan Grable
Overview: There was a chance Baker could have been picked higher than the fourth round but that’s where the former four-star and Alabama receiver ended up as the Knights had just two players taken. Grable was the only other UCF player selected as he was picked in the sixth round.
*****
BYU (1)
Drafted player: Kingsley Suamataia
Overview: There was some discussion that Suamataia would go in the first round and the five-star offensive tackle, who grew up training with Penei Sewell and other elite players in Utah, definitely had the talent to be picked there. But for one reason or another Suamataia fell to the late second round. This could be one of the biggest steals of the draft.
*****
CINCINNATI (1)
Drafted player: Jowon Briggs
Overview: Briggs was the only Cincinnati player drafted and he was picked in the seventh round. The former four-star started his career at Virginia before transferring to Cincinnati where he totaled 27 tackles and two sacks this season.
*****
HOUSTON (1)
Drafted player: Patrick Paul
Overview: Paul was the lone player from Houston to get drafted last week as the former two-star offensive lineman drastically outplayed his ranking and was a second-round NFL Draft pick.
At 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds in high school, Paul was a massive prospect who really developed on the field with the Cougars.
*****
IOWA STATE (1)
Drafted player: T.J. Tampa
Overview: A three-star receiver out of St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood, Tampa moved to defensive back in Ames and there was a lot of talk that Tampa could go in the second round but he fell to the fourth. This past season, the former three-star had two interceptions and seven pass deflections.
*****
WEST VIRGINIA (1)
Drafted player: Zach Frazier
Overview: Although West Virginia had only Frazier drafted, it was a memorable night for the Mountaineers as the former high three-star was taken in the second round, went viral with his excitement about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pick and now a kid from Fairmont, W. Va., who played is going only 90 minutes away to play in the NFL.
*****
Note: Baylor and Oklahoma State did not have a player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
