After being shut out in round one of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, the state of South Carolina sent five players to the NFL Draft on Friday night. All five are defensive players, and four of them were products of high schools in South Carolina. .
All three from USC were taken in the second round.
The first player from the state off the board was USC SAF Nick Emmanwori of Irmo. He was taken by Seattle with the third pick in Round 2 making him the 35th pick overall.
Six picks later, USC DT TJ Sanders of Marion was taken by Buffalo with the 41st overall pick.
The last Gamecock taken on Friday was LB Demetrius Knight who transferred to USC from Charlotte prior to last season. He was chosen by Cincinnati with the 17th pick of the round and the 49th pick overall.
In Round 3, former USC DE Jordan Burch of Hammond was drafted with the 14h pick of the round and the 78th overall by the Cardinals, and Newberry native DT Jamaree Caldwell was taken with the 22nd pick of the round and the 86th pick overall by the Chargers. Burch and Caldwell both played at Oregon.
One other player with ties to the state was taken on Friday. Former Clemson SAF Andrew Mukuba, who transferred to Texas, was taken by Philadelphia with the last pick of Round 2 and the 64th overall.