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Clemson football: Former Tigers made NFL and program history

By Jeff Benedict

Rodney Poole and his husband Bryen Olive listen as the Jaguars announce their selection of Clemson running back Travis Etienne as their 25th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft late Thursday night, April 29, 2021. The Jacksonville Jaguars held a draft night party at TIAA Bank Field in anticipation of taking former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick of the first round of the NFL draft overseen by the Jaguars' new head coach Urban Meyer.Jki 042921 Jagsdraft 22
Rodney Poole and his husband Bryen Olive listen as the Jaguars announce their selection of Clemson running back Travis Etienne as their 25th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft late Thursday night, April 29, 2021. The Jacksonville Jaguars held a draft night party at TIAA Bank Field in anticipation of taking former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick of the first round of the NFL draft overseen by the Jaguars' new head coach Urban Meyer.Jki 042921 Jagsdraft 22 /
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Clemson football made program and NFL history in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft when both Trevor Lawrence, as well as Travis Etienne, were drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We have all known for weeks that former Clemson football quarterback Trevor Lawrence was going to be the first overall pick for the Jaguars. He is the highest-drafted player to ever come out of Tiger town. Prior to last night, four former Tigers had been taken fourth overall – Banks McFadden, Gaines Adams, Sammy Watkins, and Clelin Ferrell.

Two other Clemson players have been taken with the first pick of any round of the NFL Draft.

First, there was Isaiah Battle who was taken with the first pick in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft Supplemental draft by the Rams and Tee Higgins last year when the Bengals drafted him to start the second round.

Jacksonville put Clemson football in the history books

While teammates have been drafted by the same team, in the same draft year before, teammates had never been selected in the first round by the same NFL team before last night. To take that one step further, a QB and RB from the same program had never been drafted in the first round by the same team before the Jaguars last night.

It was odd seeing the Jaguars trade back into the first round to select a running back, given James Robinson ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2020 and had nearly 50 catches out of the backfield. They also have a lot of other holes to address, but head coach Urban Meyer said that his draft philosophy was to draft the best available player, and that is exactly what they did twice last night.

Given Jacksonville is just a short six-hour drive from the Upstate, the city can expect to be painted orange a lot over the next five years as Clemson football fans make the trek to support some of their favorite former players who now get to call Jacksonville home.

Not only did the Jaguars draft the best quarterback and running back in the 2021 draft, but they also drafted two guys that will help Urban Meyer change the culture for a city that desperately wants to win.

Next. Trevor Lawrence will make $3 million a year just from social media. dark

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