Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft saw reigning national champion Michigan steal the spotlight. The Wolverines had six players selected in the second and third rounds of the draft, headlined by the Los Angeles Chargers picking Junior Colson with the No. 69 pick to set up a reunion with his college coach, Jim Harbaugh.
Colson's selection set up a mini-run on Michigan players in the third round. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked receiver Roman Wilson and the Cleveland Browns picked up star offensive lineman Zak Zinter in consecutive spots to give the Wolverines seven total draft picks. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was selected with the No. 10 pick by the Minnesota Vikings the day before.
The big night for Michigan actually started before the picks ever began. The NFL honored the Wolverines' 2024 national championship team to kick off Day 2. Members of the squad walked to the stage with the CFP trophy as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell honored the group. During the presentation, Michigan's fight song, "The Victors" played in front of nearly 200,000 in attendance at the NFL Draft in Detroit, Michigan -- located less than 50 miles from Michigan's Ann Arbor campus.
Michigan's opponent in the CFP title game, Washington, saw seven players selected through the first two days. Six of the first 15 players selected in the first round came from the Pac-12, which produced eight total picks in the opening round.
Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State all have six selections thus far. As far as conferences go, the SEC -- which has produced picks for the last 17 NFL Drafts in a row -- leads the way (25), followed by the Big Ten (20) heading into the final day on Saturday.
Here's the 2024 NFL Draft broken down by school and conference at the conclusion of the third round. The breakdown is based on the leagues in which the teams competed in during the 2023 season.
2024 NFL Draft picks by schools, conferences
SEC (25)
- Alabama — 6
- Georgia — 6
- LSU — 4
- Missouri — 3
- Kentucky — 2
- Texas A&M — 2
- Florida — 1
- South Carolina — 1
Big Ten (20)
- Michigan — 7
- Penn State — 4
- Illinois — 3
- Ohio State — 2
- Iowa — 1
- Minnesota — 1
- Rutgers — 1
- Maryland — 1
Pac-12 (17)
- Washington — 7
- USC — 3
- Oregon — 2
- Utah — 2
- Oregon State — 1
- UCLA — 1
- Arizona — 1
ACC (15)
- Florida State — 6
- Clemson — 2
- Duke — 2
- North Carolina — 1
- Miami — 1
- Boston College — 1
- NC State — 1
- Pittsburgh — 1
Big 12 (13)
Independent (4)
- Notre Dame — 3
- UConn — 1
MAC (2)
- Toledo — 1
- Western Michigan — 1
Conference USA (2)
- Western Kentucky — 1
- Rice — 1
FCS (1)
- Houston Christian — 1
Ivy (1)
- Yale — 1
