If you want to make it into the NFL, you might want to take a shot at playing for OU.

The Sooners dominated the draft, providing the NFL with three of its top four selections.  And the Big 12 showcased their professional level of talent as five of the first six players picked came from the powerhouse conference.  

But first and foremost, it was time for the St. Louis Rams to step up and nab their player of the future. 

This year’s #1 pick in the draft was none other than Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. 

Bradford clearly becomes the face of a struggling franchise, and it will take his best effort to remain focused on improving himself and his team week by week.  His selection ended weeks of speculation as to whether other ailing franchises (i.e. Washington, Cleveland) looking to satisfy their needs for a quarterback of the future would entice the Rams into trading the pick.

Drafted second by the Detroit Lions was Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.  Anything on the defensive side of the football would seemingly be of great value to the porous Lions, and they certainly picked up the most dominant force available.  Suh’s strength will begin to create mismatches and/or double-teams which should allow other defenders to make plays.  A huge step in the right direction for the long-suffering Lions.

Oklahoma made its presence felt again, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted defensive tackle Gerald McCoy with the draft’s third pick.  McCoy will give Tampa Bay a player who will disrupt offensive schemes by breaking through the line of scrimmage. 

Dez Bryant still gets to play for the Cowboys - in the NFL.

The Washington Redskins followed by drafting someone to protect newly-acquired, veteran QB Donovan McNabb – offensive tackle Trent Williams.

But the major hoopla occured much later in the show. 

Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State’s amazingly gifted receiver, dropped all the way down to the 24th pick.  Bryant was finally selected by the Dallas Cowboys.  Owner Jerry Jones was quoted as saying that he “made a mistake by passing on Randy Moss, and he didn’t want to make the same mistake with Bryant.”

From a skills perspective, Bryant was easily worthy of a top-10 selection.  However, many questions regarding his off-the-field behavior and decision-making caused him to slip down to the bottom third of the round.  Playing alongside the explosive Miles Austin, Bryant should be bale to produce, and will have all of the opportunity that he could hope for to be successful in the league.  With the huge media circus that comes with being a Cowboy, he could easily prove everyone wrong…or right…about his ability to focus at the professional level.

The next big surprise occurred with the 25th selection.  The Denver Broncos grabbed Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who thoroughly impressed Josh McDaniels with his character, work ethic, heart and winning attitude.  It will remain to be seen how that will translate onto the NFL football stage, but we all know that Tebow will show up ready nd willing to do whatever he is asked to do.  You normally don’t find that sort of humility in a first-round pick, but we’re all accustomed to the great contradiction that Tebow gives us.  It is refreshing thing.  What won’t be refreshing, however, is if Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen (who hasn’t yet been selected) turns out to be head-and-shoulders better than Tebow.  This is the NFL, and unfortunately, organizations are lauded for their brilliant picks, and blasted for bone-headed ones.  People will remember that the former Gator was the second quarterback picked in this draft.  Let’s hope that Tebow is able to, at the very least, be a difference-maker in the big leagues.

T Lamont is the owner, administrator and author of all content for Ball or Nuthin\'. Feel free to contact T Lamont with a question or comment at ballornuthin@gmail.com.  All created Ball or Nuthin' content is the sole property of T Lamont. Read more from this author