This has not been a good draft for the Big Ten. The entire conference had seven players selected in the first two days of the 2013 NFL Draft. By comparison, LSU had six players taken, Outkick the Coverage's Clay Travis noted.
We knew the Big Ten would struggle this year without a ton of high prospects, but it has been worse than expected. The conference nearly was shut out of the first round before the Dallas Cowboys selected Wisconsin center Travis Frederick with the No. 31 overall pick. Alabama had three players selected in a row from No. 9 to No. 11.
The second Big Ten representative was Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short at No. 44 overall to the Carolina Panthers. Four from the conference went in the second round, including running backs Le'Veon Bell (Michigan State) and Montee Ball (Wisconsin).
Any conference will be light in the draft when its premier institutions don't have players picked. Michigan's Denard Robinson arguably was the biggest household name from the league, and he's dropped beyond the third round. The Wolverines haven't had a single player taken yet.
Their biggest draft prospect was left tackle Taylor Lewan. He was expected to be a first-round pick, but returned for his senior season. This is the first time since 2009 that Michigan hasn't had a player selected in the first three rounds.
Ohio State defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (No. 49 to the New York Giants) has been the lone Buckeye taken.
Just not a good year for the Big Ten.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
