Despite a few road bumps late in the process, the 2013 class standouts have achieved their perfect ending.

Laremy Tunsil (No. 13), Laquon Treadwell (No. 23) and Robert Nkemdiche (No. 29) all became first-round picks Thursday, putting an NFL stamp of approval on coach Hugh Freeze and the current Rebels program.

Nkemdiche got to vacate the green room with just two picks remaining in the first round.

There’s only a hint of “what might’ve been” regarding Nkemdiche’s college career. Ole Miss beat Alabama in back-to-back seasons and also won the Sugar Bowl in January, both tremendous accomplishments. And the team’s recruiting efforts portend continued success even beyond the Big Three.

But Nkemdiche, despite being considered the top prospect in the nation in ’13 and earning first- and second-team All-SEC honors the last two years, never quite became a dominant force like an Aaron Donald (Pitt) or Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska).

Those are lofty standards, nearly impossible for anyone to achieve. But Nkemdiche is one of the most athletic defensive tackles to play college football in years. At 6-foot-3 and 294 pounds, he ran a 4.87-second 40-yard dash and a 35-inch vertical leap at the NFL Combine. He even dabbled on offense for Ole Miss in 2015, scoring a touchdown in the Sugar Bowl.

Sometimes able to chase down plays sideline to sideline — again, as a defensive tackle — but never put up big production.

Nkemdiche also fell out of a fourth-story hotel window weeks before the NFL Combine. Police found marijuana cigarettes in the room, and Nkemdiche claims he was drunk. Some have questioned his willingness to play hard on every snap.

“I still don’t know if I have a great read on him. I’m usually big on production and he doesn’t have it like you want it, but we get paid to coach players up. There is a lot there to coach,” an NFC defensive line coach told NFL.com. “I think he’ll either drive you crazy or make you look like a genius. Probably not a lot of middle ground is my guess.”

The Cardinals will get the first opportunity to try to harness that larger-than-life talent.

By getting selected in the first round, Nkemdiche assured the best-ever opening draft day for the Ole Miss program. The team has produced multiple first-round picks on two different occasions — in 2009 (Michael Oher, Peria Jerry) and 1966 (Stan Hindman, Mike Dennis) — but never three until Thursday.

Tunsil (7-game suspension, draft night debacle), Treadwell (slow 40 time) and Nkemdiche (character questions) all faced some level of scrutiny during the pre-draft process. But they entered college as five-star signees (along with Tony Conner, a defensive back who still is on the team). And the three of them exit as first-round picks with an opportunity to make a better living than arguably anyone on the Ole Miss campus this last year.