Jon Wilner
Just behind the big two in talent production: A league that no longer exists.
The Pac-12 imploded in 2023 because of poor leadership and misguided strategy, not for second-rate personnel.
That should become abundantly clear Thursday night in Pittsburgh, when as many as nine players who competed in the Pac-12 in its final season are selected in the first round.
It could account for more than one-quarter of the names called.
The list includes the presumptive No. 1 selection, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who started for Cal in 2023, and Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who played for Stanford that fall and is expected to be a top-five pick.
Utah offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson and offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, USC receiver Makai Lemon, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq and Washington receiver Denzel Boston are also viewed as likely first-round selections.
Many of them had subordinate roles that fall as the Pac-12 thrived with eight players who would become first-round picks the following spring. (Tyson didn’t play because of injury.)
Had the university presidents bet on themselves and postponed media rights negotiations until the conclusion of the 2023 season — in addition to all the talent, Colorado was must-see TV — the conference would have secured a satisfactory agreement and remained intact.
Instead, its alumni will stroll across the stage Thursday night representing other conferences.
Other storylines to watch during the draft, which airs on both ESPN and the NFL Network:
QB quality issues: College football was buzzing last summer over the stellar collection of draft-eligible quarterbacks. Then the season happened, and the QB class fell apart.
Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Texas’ Arch Manning, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Miami’s Carson Beck, Oklahoma’s John Mateer and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier — whether because of injury, bad coaching or poor play, the collective performance slumped and a ghastly QB draft class emerged.
Mendoza is the top prospect by 100 yards. Then comes Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who could go in the second half of the first round — or not until the second.
Nussmeier might join Simpson on Day 2. But don’t be surprised if no other quarterbacks are picked until the fourth round.
Indiana’s draft haul: The popular narrative during Indiana’s march to an undefeated season was that coach Curt Cignetti’s tactical wizardry enabled the Hoosiers to slice and dice more talented teams.
That wasn’t entirely true. As the football world will soon discover, Indiana’s depth chart was loaded with NFL-caliber players: At least eight should be drafted.
Cignetti’s genius lies in his evaluation and development skills: Most of the projected selections were overlooked prospects coming out of high school.
Arizona as DB-U: No school can claim a better collection of defensive backs this week than the Wildcats.
Treydan Stukes and Genesis Smith are pegged as Day 2 selections (second or third round) while Dalton Johnson is projected for the later rounds.
Additionally, former Wildcats Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock, who followed Jedd Fisch to Washington, should be middle-round selections.
Put another way: Five defensive backs on Arizona’s roster in 2023, Fisch’s final year in Tucson, could be selected.
The Wildcats have a stellar history with the position. Darryll Lewis and Antoine Cason won the Thorpe Award while Chris McAlister and Chuck Cecil were All-Americans.
We suspect coach Brent Brennan has parlayed the rich history and Arizona’s 2026 draft class into a strong pitch for cornerbacks and safeties on the recruiting trail.
Utah’s dynamic duo: The Utes have produced 10 first-round picks over the decades but never two in the same draft. That drought could end Thursday night.
Fano is projected as a top-10 pick (despite concerns about his arm length), and Lomu should go later in the first round.
In all, at least seven offensive tackles are expected to be selected Thursday, but Utah could be the only school with two selections.
Oregon’s record pursuit: The Ducks set a school record in 2025 with 10 draft picks. They need a few surprises to match that total this week.
Eight players are either locks or likely to be selected, including two likely first-rounders in Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman.
But Oregon won’t hit double digits for the second consecutive year unless a borderline prospect (tailback Noah Whittington, for example) is selected.
Cal’s streak on the line: The Bears are one of the few schools to produce two quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall — and neither is Aaron Rodgers.
Steve Bartkowski went first in 1975, and Jared Goff was the No. 1 pick in 2016.
But the Bears have been more successful recently generating defensive backs, with at least one safety or cornerback selected in each of the past six years.
Hezekiah Masses, pegged as a middle-round pick, could extend the streak to seven.
New Pac-12 prospects: There will be no shortage of former Pac-12 players selected, but we expected a paucity of draft picks from the future Pac-12 schools.
San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson is a potential first-rounder, Boise State offensive tackle Kage Casey should be off the board in the middle rounds and Oregon State safety Skyler Thomas is a likely Day 3 pick.
But that’s probably it for the conference that doesn’t yet exist.
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