Nine players were selected from the University of Florida (UF) Gators football program in the 2010 NFL Draft held in April. The nine men who were managed by Florida head coach Urban Meyer before entering the NFL in 2010 are:

• Joe Haden (cornerback) – #7 overall pick in the first round by the Cleveland Browns
• Maurkice Pouncey (center): Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round pick with the 18th overall pick
• Tim Tebow (quarterback) – Denver Broncos 1st round pick with the 25th pick in the draft
• Jermaine Cunningham (defensive end) – selected by the New England Patriots in the second round as the 53rd player selected
• Carlos Dunlap (defensive end) – Drafted in the 2nd round by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 54th overall pick
• Brandon Spikes (linebacker) – New England Patriots’ 62nd overall pick in the second round
• Major Wright (safety) – Chosen by the Chicago Bears with the 75th overall pick in the third round
• Aaron Hernandez (tight end) – Selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round as the 113th overall player selected.
• Riley Cooper (wide receiver) – Philadelphia Eagles’ 5th-round pick as the 159th overall pick

With nine picks, the University of Florida Gators had more players from their school selected in the 2010 NFL Draft than any other college. The next closest figure was seven players taken from a single school and that mark was reached by the University of Alabama, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Southern California in a three-way tie for second place. After the University of Florida and the University of Alabama, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) college with the third most players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft was the LSU Tigers with six.

To break it down by selected rounds, the UF soccer program had:

• Three first-round picks (Haden, Pouncey and Tebow)
• Three second-round picks (Cunningham, Dunlap and Spikes)
• A third-round player taken (Wright)
• A fourth round selection (Hernández)
• A fifth-round pick (Cooper)

In all, five defensive players and four offensive players were selected for seven different National Football League (NFL) teams. Three Gators football players ended up on the same team with the New England Patriots. Defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, linebacker Brandon Spikes and tight end Aaron Hernandez are scheduled to reunite as teammates on the Boston, Massachusetts-area based Patriots team.

There is no doubt that Florida head coach Urban Meyer will follow the professional football careers of all his former players. It’s widely understood that both Meyer and UF fans in general will pay particular attention to how quarterback Tim Tebow fares at the next level.