A Look Back: A Historic Take At Mountaineers Selected In The NFL Draft

West Virginia has a lengthy -if not quite completely lustrous - history in the NFL Draft.

On this, the second day of the 2018 session of professional selection, we thought it'd be interesting to take a look back at the Who's, What's and Where's of the past eight-plus decades of drafts. We also dive into the overall numbers for the Mountaineers, starting with three (the highest overall selection by a WVU player ever in Dick Leftridge by the Steelers in 1966) and ending with 273 (the total number of Mountaineers ever taken in the draft since its inception on Feb. 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia).

First, there have been a dozen first rounders overall, with six of those coming in the year 2000 or later. The highest of those was Adam Jones, taken sixth overall by the Bengals in 2005. Kevin White was the seventh overall pick by the Bears, and that's a projected team for brother Kyzir, who has been projected to go between the third and fifth rounds to the likes of Chicago, Seattle or San Francisco.

White (6-foot-2, 218 pounds) is a potential tweener player, either dropping down into a linebacker spot or being able to play a hybrid slot in the secondary. In his two seasons at West Virginia, White played in 25 games, making 152 tackles, 14. 5 for loss, with three interceptions. His name will be the first off the board for West Virginia in this draft, with the potential to be followed by brother Ka'Raun (125 catches, 1,862 yards, 17 TDs) and perhaps offensive lineman Kyle Bosch.

Ka'Raun put on an exceptional physical display during both the combine and WVU's Pro Day, snaring nearly every ball while benching 225 pounds a whopping 24 times - the most of any wideout in the last five years and one more than brother Kevin produced - while also recording a 33.5-inch vertical. That boosted his stock to where White, who will be a second or third option at the NFL level, could be selected on the second day of the draft.

Here's a look at all of WVU's first round picks.*

Eight Mountaineers have been taken as part of the top 10 overall picks, with two under head coach Dana Holgorsen in White and Tavon Austin (8th, St. Louis Rams). Holgorsen has had 19 players drafted overall, which is the most of any WVU coach over a six-year period outside the 22 selected under Don Nehlen from 1989-94, when West Virginia produced players who helped the program to two undefeated regular seasons ('88 and '93). At least two Mountaineers have been taken each season over the last half dozen drafts, with a high of five in 2016.

Here's a look at the NFL Draft selections under Holgorsen, and that six-year period under Nehlen from 1989-94.

Among the more interesting selections under Nehlen was Studstill, a four-year quarterback who was selected as a defensive back. Studstill was a scrambler, but not one in the mold of Major Harris or at White. Still, at 6-2 and 190 pounds, the Riviera Beach, Fla., native had a slimmer build that teams thought they could bulk up and mold to play in the secondary.

Studstill completed 241 of 456 passes during his career, including a key one late in the game against then-No. 11 Boston College that completed an 11-point comeback and an 11-0 regular season.

The 29-yard scoring toss to Ed Hill etched Studstill's name into all-time WVU lore, and the resulting two-point conversion put the No. 5 Mountaineers head 17-14 with just 68 seconds left before the defense held on.

Also note the secondary and skill position talent on that 1988 unbeaten team, with a quarterback (Harris), wide receiver (Reggie Rembert) and three running backs, and the talent along the defensive line.

Of the up to 28 rounds in the draft, West Virginia has had the most players taken in the third round (23), with 16 in both the second and sixth rounds and 15 in the seventh round. No players have been taken in the 20th, 25th or 27th rounds, while 21 Mountaineers have played on Super Bowl winning teams - including four in the most recent with receiver Shelton Gibson, corner Rasul Douglas, running back Wendell Smallwood and linebacker Najee Goode on the Eagles' roster last year. Goode is now with the Colts, while Gibson, Smallwood and Douglas remain in Philadelphia.

Including the year 2000, 12 West Virginia players have been on teams appearing in the last 19 Super Bowls.

Our last look back ends with a quite gettable trivia question: Name the top two NFL teams - not franchises, as if teams relocated like the Baltimore Colts to Indy, the draft selections were separated - which have selected the most Mountaineers all-time? Here's a hint. This one actually has more to do with the amount of WVU players selected more recently.

Answer: The Philadelphia Eagles (19) and the Detroit Lions (15). If you said the Cincinnatti Bengals, you weren't too far off. Indeed, the Queen City has taken it's share of WVU players all-time with nine. That's tied with the New York Giants for fourth-most, behind the Eagles, Lions and the 10 drafted by the Chicago Bears.

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