Did You Know: CMU Has As Many 1st Overall Picks as CFB Powerhouse

The 2025 NFL Draft saw the first Miami Hurricane selected first overall since 1991. Quarterback Cam Ward is the third such selection from The U, one of college football's most prestigious programs.

To the average football fan, it would make sense for the 1st overall pick to be from a prestigious university. After all, Ward himself likely wouldn't have been the first overall pick at his two previous schools: Incarnate Word and Washington State.

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But it's not always the case. Certainly, most of the smaller schools that have had a player selected first overall did so before the modern era, which is recognized at the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. The distinction is necessary since many players drafted prior to this did not join the franchises that selected them.

One of the exceptions is Central Michigan, which had a first overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft: left tackle Eric Fisher, who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Central Michigan Has as Many First Overall Picks as These Prestigious CFB Programs

In total, 51 schools have had at least one player selected first overall, but only 18 have had more than one. Of those 18, four only have one first overall pick in the modern era, effectively tying them with Central Michigan.

Those programs include:

• Alabama (Bryce Young, 2023 / Harry Gilmer, 1948)
• Michigan (Jake Long, 2008 / Tom Harmon, 1941)
• Nebraska (Irving Fryar, 1984 / Sam Francis, 1937)
• Tennessee (Peyton Manning, 1998 / George Cafego, 1940)

Here are some other notable programs that Central Michigan is tied with for first overall selections:

• Clemson
• Florida State
• Iowa (Pre-merger)
• Michigan State (Pre-merger)
• Oregon (Pre-Merger)
• Texas A&M
• UCLA

CMU's NFL Draft boasts don't end there, as they are also the only MAC school to have had a first overall pick in the NFL Draft. Further, CMU has more modern first overall picks than 10 current Big Ten programs. Also, the Chippewas can say their program has done something that storied programs such as BYU, Florida, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin have never done.

Central Michigan's history isn't one of prestigious national accolades, but some of the program's contributions to the NFL are trivia facts that will blow your friends' minds. Another example: JJ Watt and Antonio Brown, two of the greatest players in NFL history at their respective positions, were on the CMU roster at the same time in 2007, years before Fisher was even on the Chippewa team.