Indiana football is no stranger to being on the wrong side of the college football record books.
Last year the Hoosiers became the first program to reach 700 losses all-time.
Until a few years ago they had the longest active streak without being ranked in the AP top-25.
And while they’ve had plenty of chances lately, and have suffered some heartbreaking losses along the way, IU also has gone the longest of any Power Five program without a bowl win (1991).
Of course we are only a couple seasons removed from Indiana being in the College Football Playoff conversation, so it hasn’t been all bad lately.
And Indiana did have something positive going — a run of nine straight years of a player being selected in the NFL Draft. But that came to an end this year, and IU was the only Big Ten team to not have someone selected in 2023.
And now instead, the Hoosiers have a new, shall we say “sub-optimal” streak going after the 2023 NFL Draft.
When Will McDonald of Iowa State was chosen at the draft on Thursday, Indiana was put “on the clock,” so to speak.
The Hoosiers now own the longest run of not having a player chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft.
No one expected IU to have a player chosen early this year, but it has now been 30 years since the Hoosiers have had a former star chosen in the first round. You have to go back to the Bill Mallory era to find the last.
Interestingly enough, 10 former Indiana players were chosen in the first round in the 30 years prior to the current drought.
In total, 11 former IU players have been first-round NFL Draft choices. Here’s the list:
1994 – Thomas Lewis, New York Giants
1992 – Vaughn Dunbar, New Orleans Saints
1988 – Eric Moore, New York Giants
1985 – Kevin Allen, Philadelphia Eagles
1984 – Duane Gunn, Pittsburgh Steelers
1974 – Carl Barzilauskas, New York Jets
1968 – Doug Crusan, Miami Dolphins
1966 – Randy Beisler, Philadelphia Eagles
1965 – Tom Nowatske, Detroit Lions
1964 – Marv Woodson, Baltimore Colts
1944 – Billy Hillenbrand, New York Giants
1938 – Corby Davis – St. Louis Rams
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