Offensive linemen from UT Chattanooga and Northern Iowa were drafted within the first 32 picks of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday as first-round selections, yet no one — not a soul even from SEC-bound Texas or Oklahoma — heard their names called from the Big 12.

The league had precisely zero first round picks for a second consecutive year in a stunning turn of events (though maybe not totally surprising if you’ve followed this year’s draft). Jeff Gladney was the last Big 12er to represent in the first round, which came back in 2020. Meanwhile, leagues like the SEC and Big Ten rolled through the first round. Georgia’s defense alone accounted for five of the 32 selections from Thursday!

There’s at least some hope here for the Big 12 because even some of the bigger brands in the sport didn’t have first-rounders. Teams like Clemson, Auburn and Tennessee — all who regularly recruit at a higher level than OSU and most of the Big 12 — didn’t produce players who went in the first 32 picks.

Still, not a great sign for the Big 12!

The good news is that, well, good news is probably on its way. Malcolm Rodriguez, Devin Harper, Tre Sterling, Kolby Harvell-Peel, and Christian Holmes have all been projected as potential day two or three draft picks. Josh Sills and Tay Martin, too. That doesn’t make up for the Big 12’s no-show in Round 1, of course, but the league should be plenty represented in the coming days even if this year it didn’t have elite talent falling off the board on the first day.

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