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Yesterday, two more Bruins joined the NFL ranks as G Alex Redmond and WR Logan Sweet were both signed as undrafted free agents by the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
The news was confirmed by tweets from the official UCLA Football twitter account.
Next to make the leap: @AlexRedmond51 to the @Bengals. #NFLBruins pic.twitter.com/ASHORHO4RI
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) May 1, 2016
Add another to the #NFLBruin list: @logannsweett5 signs with the @Colts. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ec2j7TckZE
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) May 1, 2016
This brings the total number of Bruins who joined NFL teams this weekend to 12.
Here's a full rundown on which teams the former Bruins are now members of:
Player Name | Position | Round Drafted | NFL Team |
Kenny Clark | DT | 1 | Green Bay Packers |
Myles Jack | LB | 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Caleb Benenoch | OL | 5 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Paul Perkins | RB | 5 | New York Giants |
Jordan Payton | WR | 5 | Cleveland Browns |
Aaron Wallace | LB | 7 | Tennessee Titans |
Thomas Duarte | TE | 7 | Miami Dolphins |
Devin Fuller | WR | 7 | Atlanta Falcons |
Jake Brendel | C | UDFA | Dallas Cowboys |
Ka'imi Fairbairn | K | UDFA | Houston Texans |
Alex Redmond | OL | UDFA | Cincinnati Bengals |
Logan Sweet | WR | UDFA | Indianapolis Colts |
That makes UCLA the school with the 2nd most draft picks in the 2016 NFL Draft. Only Ohio State had more this year. The message to recruits cannot be simpler: "If you want to make it to the NFL, you should be coming to UCLA."
At the same time, it is worth noting that, Jack's injury aside, most of the Bruins fell lower than estimated by the NFL Draft Advisory Committee. For instance, Thomas Duarte received a 3rd Round projection from the committee but didn't get selected until the final round. Now, some may chalk that up to poor coaching or underperformance by the Bruin players. Personally, I think the message to the next group of guys needs to be "Stay in school. Exhaust your NCAA eligibility and don't be in such a hurry to enter the draft. In the process, your draft stock will rise as high as possible and, heck, if you stick around and the Bruins can win the National Championship we all crave, then your draft stock will be even bigger!"
Go Bruins!!!