The ACC made up for its dismal 2011 NFL Draft first round showing, producing more than a third of the players on the second round list. The North Carolina Tar Heels and Clemson Tigers sent three each, with the Miami Hurricanes contributing another two.
Da'Quan Bowers finally went off the board at No. 51 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Teammates DL Jarvis Jenkins and CB Marcus Gilchrist joined the Redskins and Chargers respectively. UNC star DT Marvin Austin, another draft board stumbler, wound up a member of the Giants -- they apparently need more defensive linemen! LB Bruce Carter went to the Cowboys, and the Browns took WR Greg Little with the pick they got from the Falcons.
Even more curious than the ACC's second-round bounty? Just two SEC players went off the board, and they were the last two: Florida OL Marcus Gilbert, to Pittsburgh, and Kentucky WR Randall Cobb, to Green Bay. Drake Nevis, Ryan Mallett, Justin Houston and Clint Boling have to be coming up soon and very likely in the fourth round.
The second round of the 2011 NFL Draft starts at 6 p.m. (ET) on Friday, April 29, and SB Nation has everything you need to keep up with it: news, rumors, player profiles, scouting reports, the full NFL draft schedule, NFL mock drafts, draft projections and more. Check it all out at SB Nation's NFL Draft hub and our NFL Draft blog Mocking the Draft. For more Atlanta Falcons draft discussion, join The Falcoholic.