Indianapolis — There are nearly 400 NFL Draft picks in Alabama and only one of them has done what former Crimson Tide picks give Evan Neal a chance to do next month: go first overall.
Neil is one of a handful of prospects—including NC State left tackle Ikem "Icky" Ekwonu, Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon linebacker Kywan Thibodaux—who could hear their names when the Jacksonville Jaguars opened the NFL Draft on April 28. . If it does, it would halt Alabama's streak of not being the No. 1 overall pick in 74 years.
The last time this happened was in 1948, when Washington selected quarterback/halfback Harry Gilmour, and for Neil to be the player to break that streak, with all the distinctive talent the program had in its history, would be monumental.
Alabama quarterback Joe Namath was first picked in the 1965 AFL Draft by the New York Jets.
"It will mean everything," Neil said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "You have a lot of Alabama players who deserved the No. 1 spot, and for that, to me, that would be extremely special. I think the entire state of Alabama would be proud. The University of Alabama would certainly be proud."
Alabama has taken on 39 players in the first round of 13 drafts, including a record six last year, but none have gone more than the third. Buffalo picked up defensive tackle Marcel Darius in 2011, and Cleveland played back Trent Richardson in 2012.
In the last two drafts alone, the Crimson Tide had 10 first-rounders.
The Crimson Tide has had 375 players selected since the draft began in 1936, and Gilmour was the only player to be picked first overall—and only two players to be picked second overall: quarterback Riley Smith in 1936. Boston and by linebacker Cornelius Bennett in 1987 by the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jaguars are taking on the Nile after the Super Bowl mock draft near ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShae. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has placed Neal in third place over the Houston Texans in his latest mock draft, which was released Tuesday.