The man in the middle of Alabama’s tenacious defense last season was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the No. 41 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft Friday night.
Reggie Ragland was the first Crimson Tide player off the board, going in a second round. Alabama has had at least seven players taken in each of the last four drafts, and there’s a strong chance the school will extend that to five in a row in 2016.
The selection of Ragland also marks the seventh Tide linebacker selected over the last seven drafts dating to 2010.
The 6-foot-1, 247-pounder was projected by many, at the very least, to be the top inside linebacker in this year’s class.
The versatile Ragland was named First Team All-America and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for his performance last season in which he led Alabama in tackles with 102 (29 more than any other player on the team) to go with 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 fumbles forced, 1 interception and 7 pass breakups.
As a junior, Ragland was 2nd on the team in tackles with 93 with 10.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
The Madison, Ala. native was the leader for arguably the best defense in the nation in 2015. The Tide led the FBS in rush defense (75.7 yards per game), was tied for 2nd in scoring defense (15.1 points per game) and was 3rd in total defense (276.3 yards per game).
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
