Mike Green became the 47th Marshall football player ever chosen in the NFL Draft last week, picked No. 59 overall in the second round by the Baltimore Ravens.
He was the only player chosen from both the Thundering Herd and the Sun Belt this season. Herd defensive back JJ Roberts also became an undrafted signee with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joining a list of notable undrafted talents from Marshall that include Herd legend Frank Gatski òòò½ÊÓƵ” picked up by the Cleveland Browns in 1946 at center and finishing his career as a Pro Bowler and three-time NFL champion.
Gatskiòòò½ÊÓƵ™s college number, 72, is the only one to ever be retired at Marshall.
Here is a look at Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s history in the NFL Draft:
First-round selections
Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s most notable first-round pick, of course, is Randy Moss. Moss was picked by the Minnesota Vikings with the 21st pick and went on to be one of the greatest receivers in the sportòòò½ÊÓƵ™s history. He received six Pro Bowl selections, four All-Pro selections, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1998 and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Moss is the only Marshall player to ever be named rookie of the year on either offense or defense. He also has the claim of being one of the greatest players to never win a Super Bowl.
Moss was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and the 2000s All-Decade Team. He was a five-time receiving touchdowns leader in the NFL and won a Comeback Player of the Year award in 2007.
Moss still holds the record for most receiving touchdowns in a rookie season with 17. He also has the most receiving touchdowns in a single season with 23 in 2007 with the Patriots.
Mossòòò½ÊÓƵ™ all-time numbers settle at 15,295 receiving yards on 983 receptions with 157 receiving touchdowns.
Mossòòò½ÊÓƵ™ college teammate Chad Pennington was picked in the 2000 draft at quarterback by the New York Jets at No. 18 overall.
Until 2024, when Joe Burrow won the award for the second time, Pennington was the only quarterback to ever win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award twice òòò½ÊÓƵ” Garrison Hearst also won it twice as a running back for the 49ers and Cardinals. Pennington played in the NFL for 11 seasons and led the league in completion percentage twice. When he retired, he was the most accurate passer in NFL history. Pennington holds a career completion percentage of 66%. He threw 102 touchdowns with more than 17,800 yards. Drew Brees is the only retired player with a higher completion percentage, 67.7%.
Byron Leftwich holds the distinction, though, of the highest draft selection from Marshall òòò½ÊÓƵ” chosen at No. 7 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003. Leftwich was a Super Bowl champion as a member of the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. Leftwich played in the NFL for 10 seasons. Leftwich also won a Super Bowl as a coach when he served as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Leftwich ended his career with a 57.9% completion percentage, throwing for more than 10,000 yards and 58 touchdowns.
Second-round selections
Green became the third player chosen with the No. 59 pick in Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s history last weekend when he was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens.
Vinny Curry and Aaron Dobson were also picked in the same spot in consecutive seasons òòò½ÊÓƵ” Curry in 2012 and Dobson in 2013. Both went on to be Super Bowl champions.
Curry won his with the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. He wore No. 75 as a tribute to Marshall University and the lives lost on Nov. 14, 1970 in the plane crash. Curry retired on Nov. 14, 2024 òòò½ÊÓƵ” in tribute to the Herd. Curry ended his career with 209 tackles, 32.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Dobson is a native of Dunbar, West Virginia and was chosen by the New England Patriots. He was with the Patriots during Super Bowl XLIX. He ended his career with 53 catches for 698 yards and four touchdowns. Dobson is now a wide receivers coach at Southern Miss, having served in the same role at Marshall in 2024.
Notable late-round selections
Michael Barber was a Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers and was drafted in 1989 òòò½ÊÓƵ” chosen with the 112th pick. Barber is a native of Winfield and was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. Barber was Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s highest-ever draft pick before Moss was drafted in 1998. Barber backed up Jerry Rice and John Taylor on the 49ers.
Justin Rohrwasser is the highest-selected special teams player in Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s history òòò½ÊÓƵ” chosen in the fifth round by the New England Patriots in 2020. Rohrwasser was scrutinized for a controversial tattoo that he eventually had removed. Rohrwasser was waived from the Patriots in 2021.
Rasheen Ali is still an active member of the Ravens and will be Greenòòò½ÊÓƵ™s teammate. He was chosen by Baltimore in 2024 and was the most recent pick before Green.
Johnathan Goddard was chosen by the Lions in the sixth round of the 2005 draft by the Detroit Lions. He was a Super Bowl champion with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.
Marshall has had some success come from its seventh-round selections.
Carl Lee is the most notable òòò½ÊÓƵ” a defensive back who was a three-time Pro Bowler and 1988 All-Pro selection chosen with the 186th pick. Lee is the namesake of the award given to West Virginiaòòò½ÊÓƵ™s best defensive back in the high school ranks each season. Lee attended South Charleston. He recorded 31 interceptions, 803 tackles, seven fumble recoveries and two touchdowns in his career.
Lee was also the coach for West Virginia State from 1996-2005.
Nazeeh Johnson is still an active member of the Kansas City Chiefs. He has won two Super Bowls òòò½ÊÓƵ” LVII and LVIII òòò½ÊÓƵ” and played in three in his three seasons in the NFL.
Ahmad Bradshaw, a native of Bluefield, Virginia, won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants against Tom Bradyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Patriots.
He had a career that spanned more than 1,000 rushing attempts with 36 rushing touchdowns. He also recorded 1,493 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. Bradshaw was the leading rusher in both of the Super Bowls that he won òòò½ÊÓƵ” two of the most impressive Super Bowl rings among Marshall players.
Pre-modern late-rounders
The NFL Draft has lasted seven rounds since 1994. Marshall has plenty of history of players selected in later rounds before the modern format.
Jim Oòòò½ÊÓƵ™Connor was selected in the 1958 and 1959 NFL Drafts. He was picked in the 24th round in 1958 and the 29th round in 1959. He is Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s lowest pick by position. The 1959 draft was held at The Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, a far cry from the 2025 draft, in which 250,000 people attended the first round.
Troy Brown holds down the fort among players selected in the eighth round or later of their respective drafts. He was a Pro Bowl receiver in 2001 and was a three-time Super Bowl champion after being picked by the Patriots in 1993. He is a member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame and was part of their All-Dynasty Team.
He recorded 557 receptions in his career with 6,366 receiving yards. He scored 31 receiving touchdowns and three return touchdowns and also had three career interceptions.
Brown played in the NFL for 15 seasons and was part of Brady and the Patriotsòòò½ÊÓƵ™ first-ever Super Bowl win. His 2001 season saw him pull down 101 catches for 1,199 yards and five touchdowns òòò½ÊÓƵ” at the time, it was a franchise record for receptions in a single season.
Brown returned a punt for a touchdown against the Steelers in the AFC championship game that ended up being a go-ahead score. Brown was the all-time leader in receptions when he retired for the Patriots, now beaten out by Wes Welker and Julian Edelman.
Rounding out notable late-round Marshall selections, Norm Wiley was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro selection after being drafted in the 13th round in 1950 by the Eagles. Among notable undrafted players, punter Chris Hanson was a Pro Bowler. Tight end Mike Bartrum was a Pro Bowler. Doug Legursky, Albert McClellan and Omar Brown were Super Bowl champions.
