NORFOLK, Va. – Millions of people who watched the NFL draft on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network this past weekend found themselves marveling at the success Old Dominion has had in developing pro football prospects.
A school record three Monarchs were drafted – offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri in the fourth round by New Orleans, defensive back Tre Hawkins III in the sixth round by the New York Giants and tight end Zack Kuntz in the seventh round by the New York Jets.
Graphics with the ODU logo kept popping up on the screen and analysts waxed poetically as to how a relative newcomer – the Monarchs began playing football in 2009 – can produce so many future pros.
And if we're being honest, there were really four ODU draft choices. Keion White, a second-round draft choice, had one scholarship offer in high school, from ODU.
Before he left ODU, he was a second-team all-league choice. He left with an ODU degree in hand and still has an affinity for his alma mater. His NFL watch party in Atlanta was attended predominantly by friends and former teammates from ODU.
When ODU Football Athletic Trainer Justin Walker Tweeted that three ODU players had been drafted, White responded: "Make it Four."
He transferred to Georgia Tech after graduation, but it was ODU who provided him the foundation that developed him into an elite football player.
And that's what ODU does so well. It not only develops your skills as a player, but also as a student and human being, and that has resulted in the program having great success producing NFL players.
Appalachian State is the only Sun Belt school with more players in the NFL than ODU. App has 13, including players drafted this weekend.
ODU has 10 in the NFL.
To put things in perspective, App State began playing in 1928. ODU's program is entering its 15th season.
Nick Saldiveri competing in the Senior Bowl
ODU has more players in the NFL than East Division rivals Georgia Southern (seven), James Madison, Marshall and Georgia State (five) and Coastal Carolina (four) and regional rivals East Carolina (seven) and regional rivals Liberty and Charlotte (four apiece).
The 2023 draft not only improved those numbers, it put a national spotlight on the Monarchs.
The Sun Belt set a league record with nine draftees, and one third hailed from ODU. While the American Athletic Conference had 10 picks, most came from schools joining the Big 12 next season. And that makes the Sun Belt leader among the Group of Five in producing NFL players.
ODU had more draft picks than the average ACC, Pac-12 and AAC program. Only 28 schools had four or more draftees. ODU had as many draft choices as all of Conference USA and more than Virginia and Virginia Tech combined.
Why has ODU been so successful? In part because it has invested in the right things to develop players to the fullest of their ability, whether that means a career in the NFL or as teacher, cybersecurity expert or coach.
ODU has also invested in great football facilities, academics, coaches and staff.
Saldiveri credits strength coaches Chad Snodgrass and Aaron Rittgers for turning him into a fourth-round draft pick. "What they did to make me stronger and faster was absolutely amazing," he said.
More than 5,000 ODU fans followed the Monarchs to the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl
ODU's sports medicine staff of Justin Walker and Angela Moening do amazing work to help players recover from daily practice and also to help prevent and heal injuries.
Odds are, if you are a college athlete, you won't play as a professional and thus your academics are as important as your progress on the field.
Sarah Walker, ODU's director of academic advising, works exclusively with football and takes a personal interest in every player. She will cry, as always, when ODU football players graduate on Saturday. Her office is in the L.R. Hill Sports Complex, mere steps away from ODU's brand new $3.5 million locker room.
ODU's success in putting players in the NFL started with previous head coach Bobby Wilder, who helped develop Atlanta Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Zach Pascal.
That success has continued under fourth-year head coach Ricky Rahne, who is one of the smartest and most decent human beings I've ever met.
He graduated from Cornell and could be making a fortune in the business world. But he has a passion for developing young men, and not just as football players, but as good family men. I've never heard him speak at a press conference without, at some point, bringing up his wife, Jen, and sons, Jake and Ryder.
ODU's new, $3.5 million locker room.
Play for ODU and you'll get to know his family. You will dine in his home, and the homes of other assistant coaches, whose families have free reign of the L.R. Hill Sports Center.
When ODU players look for summer work, especially for internships that mesh with their majors, Norfolk and nearby Virginia Beach offer plenty of opportunities. You're not isolated in a college town when you play at ODU. You're in the business hub of a region with 1.8 million residents.
And you're a 20-minute drive from the Atlantic Ocean.
You'll also get the chance to compete against stiff competition. ODU plays the next nine seasons, home and home, with Virginia Tech, hosts Wake Forest this season and UVA in 2028. There are road games at South Carolina and Indiana, as well as multiple games against Army, Liberty and ECU on future schedules.
The Sun Belt East Division is the best in the Group of Five. Last season App State upset Texas A&M, Marshall won at Notre Dame and Georgia Southern at Nebraska.
ODU upended Virginia Tech, evening the series record between the Hokies and Monarchs at 2-2. The Monarchs are 2-0 against the Hokies in Norfolk and both games were sold out and televised nationally.
Rahne said that regardless of where you are now, if you have NFL talent, ODU will get you to the NFL.
Kuntz was a highly-regarded high school recruit who rarely played in three seasons at Penn State. After transferring to ODU, he got the chance to play and developed and proved he was NFL worthy.
All-American linebacker Jason Henderson during ODU's most recent victory over Virginia Tech at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
"I owe a lot to this man right here," Kuntz said about Rahne on Twitter after being drafted. "Couldn't have done it without my main man."
Saldiveri came to ODU out of high school and Hawkins from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas.
Both had different paths to ODU, but inevitably made a huge impression at ODU's Pro Day, which was witnessed by 35 NFL assistant coaches and scouts.
Dozens of NFL scouts attended ODU practices and games. Every NFL franchise sent coaches or scouts to ODU at least once this past season.
Any why not? They know where good pro football prospects are being developed.
Yes, ODU has a young program. But it is one that is increasingly being recognized as a pipeline to the NFL.
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
ODU spent $76.5 million renovating S.B. Ballard Stadium in 2019.