Ohio State was one of the most talented college football teams in the country in 2015, and said talent will be on record-tying display one last time in the Windy City at the end of this month.
The NFL Tuesday announced the 25 players who have been invited to attend this year’s draft, slated for April 28-30 in Chicago. Of those 25, one-fifth were members of the 2015 Buckeyes: cornerback Eli Apple, defensive end Joey Bosa, offensive tackle Taylor Decker, running back Ezekiel Elliott and LB Darron Lee.
The five Buckeyes invited to attend the draft ties the record set by Alabama in 2012.
All five of those former OSU players are projected by some/most draftniks to be selected in the first round of the draft. If that happens, and one or two more sneak into that opening round -- wide receiver Michael Thomas and safety Vonn Bell are possibilities -- OSU would either match or surpass the record of six Miami Hurricanes taken in the first round of the 2004 draft.
Alabama and Ole Miss, with three invites each, and Florida, with two, are the only other programs with more than one player attending this year’s festivities.
The OSU players attending will see a familiar face in Urban Meyer, one of a dozen head coaches who will be in attendance. The other 11 coaches include Baylor’s Art Briles, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Cal’s Sonny Dykes, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, North Dakota State’s Chris Klieman, UCLA’s Jim Mora, TCU’s Gary Patterson, Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
Below is the complete list of former college football players who have been invited to attend:
CB Eli Apple, Ohio State
DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State
DT Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
WR Corey Coleman, Baylor
OT Jack Conklin, Michigan State
OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State
WR Josh Doctson, Texas Christian
DE Kevin Dodd, Clemson
RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
QB Jared Goff, California
CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
LB Myles Jack, UCLA
DT Chris Jones, Mississippi State
DE Shaq Lawson, Clemson
LB Darron Lee, Ohio State
S Keanu Neal, Florida
DT Robert Nkemdiche, Mississippi
LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama
CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
DT Jarran Reed, Alabama
DT A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama
OT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
WR Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi
OT Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi
QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State