Twelve NFL first-round draft picks have Allstate Sugar Bowl connections

NEW ORLEANS (April 29, 2024) – Twelve NFL First Round Draft Picks are alums of Allstate Sugar Bowl events, including eight that played in actual Allstate Sugar Bowl games and four that played in the Allstate Louisiana Kickoff. Fifty-two players who were on Allstate Sugar Bowl rosters or who participated in the Allstate Louisiana Kickoff were selected in the Draft overall including 40 from Sugar Bowl games and an additional 12 from the Kickoff.

The highest pick (No. 7 overall by the Tennessee Titans) that played in an Allstate Sugar Bowl game was Alabama tackle JC Latham who helped the Crimson Tide to 496 total yards in a 45-20 win over K-State in the Dec. 31, 2022, Sugar Bowl. Right behind Latham was Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was snagged at No. 8 by the Atlanta Falcons. Penix earned the Miller-Digby Award as the Most Outstanding Offensive Player after throwing for 430 yards and a pair of touchdowns in this past year’s Sugar Bowl, a thrilling 37-31 Playoff Semifinal win over Texas.

Jayden Daniels, the winner of the Sugar Bowl’s Manning Award as the top collegiate quarterback in the country, was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders. He is the 12th Manning Award winner (out of 19) to be selected in the top three of the NFL Draft.

Daniels also has a Sugar Bowl connection as he was the LSU quarterback in the Allstate Louisiana Kickoff on Sept. 4, 2022. That event added 12 players to the Sugar Bowl draft total as that LSU team had five players selected (Daniels, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Maason Smith, and Mekhi Wingo) and the 2022 Florida State team had seven draftees (Jared Verse, Renardo Green, Trey Benson, Jarrian Jones, Jordan Travis, Johnny Wilson, and Tatum Bethune).

Over the last 10 years, 327 Sugar Bowlers (only includes players on Sugar Bowl rosters, not Manning Award winners or participants in other Sugar Bowl events) have been selected in the NFL Draft. Those selections include 75 first-rounders (eight this year, 10 last year, nine in 2022, eight in 2021, nine in 2020, eight in 2019, five in 2018, eight in 2017 and 10 in 2016). Prior to the 40 picks in this year’s Draft, the Sugar Bowl saw 36 picks last year, 40 picks in 2022, 34 picks in 2021, and 36 in 2020, as well as 40 alums selected in 2019, 35 in 2018, 32 in 2017 and 34 in 2016.

In the 2024 Draft, 21 players from last season’s Sugar Bowl were selected – 11 from Texas and 10 from Washington, including five first-rounders (Byron Murphy II and Xavier Worthy from Texas; Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, and Troy Fautanu from Washington). Alabama, which played in the 12/31/22 Sugar Bowl had nine players from that team selected. Alabama’s opponent in that game, K-State, had three NFL draftees.

Allstate Sugar Bowlers in the 2024 NFL Draft

# On team but did not participate in Bowl

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.