2024 NFL Draft: Why the secret behind MAC's historical success can work in transfer portal era

Producing first-round picks is nothing new for the MAC, but doing it in the transfer portal era is more difficult

By Allen Trieu Apr 25, 2024 at 12:16 pm ET• 5 min read

More than 50 scouts from all 32 NFL teams attended Toledo's Pro Day this year, even though the Rockets' top prospect, likely first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell, didn't work out. Instead, Mitchell stood on his NFL Combine numbers; the coveted cornerback ran a 4.33 in the forty-yard dash and had a vertical jump of 38 inches.

Twenty-three NFL teams sent representatives to Western Michigan, where defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland is expected to be an early-round choice. His former linemates Braden Fiske and Andre Carter transferred to Florida State and Indiana, respectively, and are also expected to hear their names called during the draft, with Fiske a potential second- or third-round selection. That means that at one point in Kalamazoo, three draft picks were playing together along the defensive front. 

What, exactly, are they putting in the Gatorade in the Mid-American Conference? 

The answer is, nothing new. Long-time draftniks should be able to rattle off plenty of MAC players who have drawn crowds of scouts. Ben Roethlisberger, Khalil Mack, Eric Fisher, Joe Staley, Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington are among the MAC's first-round picks since 2000. Kareem Hunt, Diontae Johnson, Sean Murphy-Bunting are other current notables in the pros. Prior to those names, James Harrison, Jason Taylor, Josh Cribbs, Antonio Gates, Antonio Brown, Greg Jennings, and Michael Turner came from the MAC, and the true historians who want to go back to Jack Lambert and Phil Villapiano can take it there.