LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger is breathing a bit of a sigh of relief now after finally hearing his name called by an NFL team. Mettenberegr was drafted early in the sixth round by the Tennessee Titans with the 178th overall pick. At Tennessee he will likely be given a chance to back-up Jake Locker right away and perhaps make a case to put the pressure on for a starting job.
Mettenberger likely dropped so far in the draft because of injury concerns after being beat up last fall for the Tigers. He can be accurate and there really is little to doubt his toughness. If he can pick up the playbook and put together some solid practices in spring camps and training camp, it would not be a total shock to see Mettenberger get some playing time this fall, especially if Locker struggles.
The SEC regained control in the conference draft pick totals at the end of the fifth round. As the fifth round came to a close, the SEC accounted for 36 draft picks after sending 10 players in the fifth round. That helped pull back ahead of the ACC and start to create a little breathing room in the total count. The ACC ended the fifth round with 31 picks, the Pac-12 had 27 picks and the Big Ten had 25 picks.