Five 1st Round Picks From South Florida In NFL Draft. None From UM.

As most first rounds are, the NFL Draft saw South Florida represented well beyond just the Dolphins picking at 13. Five players from the Dade/Broward area were selected in the opening 30 picks.

Nick Bosa, the Fort Lauderdale product who went to St. Thomas, went 2nd to the 49ers.

St. Thomas’ Nick Bosa, taken No. 2 in NFL draft, is Broward’s second-highest pick ever https://t.co/Ps4EXOLpjM pic.twitter.com/jncK3pMm54

— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) April 26, 2019

Devin Bush, the Flanagan alumnus from Pembroke Pines, went 10th to the Steelers, who traded up to get him

Devin Bush Jr., who starred at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, is now a first-round NFL draft pick https://t.co/BAwbd9mYOl pic.twitter.com/CgGh42zBfP

— WPLG Local 10 Sports (@Local10Sports) April 26, 2019

Brian Burns, from Plantation and American Heritage, went 16th to Carolina

No. 16 @Panthers Brian Burns, LB – American Heritage HS (Plantation, Florida)) #NFLDraft2019

— HS Football America (@HSFBamerica) April 26, 2019

Hollywood Brown is from… Hollywood, Florida and went 25th to the Ravens

He’s so Broward County, his hometown is his nickname.

Chaminade-Madonna alum and Oklahoma WR Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown is selected by the Ravens and becomes the FOURTH Broward product taken in the NFL draft's first round. @CMLions_Sports https://t.co/pm6Dpz9cBC

— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) April 26, 2019

Deandre Baker went 30th to the Giants, who also traded up to get him, and went to Miami Northwestern

#2019NFLDraft

ROUND 1, PICK NO. 30
GIANTS

CB Deandre Baker
Miami Northwestern
Georgia#flhsfb #NFLDraft @MNW_Bulls1955https://t.co/GOTEf8QQj9 pic.twitter.com/IaI3KFASDR

— FloridaHSFootball.com (@FlaHSFootball) April 26, 2019

The talent in our communities is staggering. Unfortunately, from a college point of view, none of those players went to UM. Bosa followed his brother to Ohio State. Bush came out of Michigan. Brian Burns from FSU. Hollywood Brown went to the least Hollywood place in America, Oklahoma. And Deandre Baker went to Georgia.

While none of this is a particular indictment on anyone currently in the program. Nor is there any reversing the reality that major college football programs are going to come to Miami and Fort Lauderdale on the lookout for the best players in America.

But we really won’t see the University of Miami back at the highest levels of college football until the commissioner starts saying “from the University of Miami” at the end of these picks. Which seems obvious, but Manny Diaz has a lot of work to do to regain his turf.

Everyone is here now, but this talent base is the reason why UM should always be at the top of this sport. And it’s his job to win these recruiting wars and have the NFL stars stay in their backyard and win ACC Championship for the Hurricanes.