Cornerback county: Three Broward County cornerbacks go in top 50 of 2021 NFL Draft
College coaches searching for elite cornerbacks in the Class of 2018 needed not look much further than Broward County.
At Plantation American Heritage, Patrick Surtain II was the No. 1 cornerback in the country, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, and Tyson Campbell was No. 2. At Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, Asante Samuel Jr. was No. 9 and the No. 60 overall recruit in the country.
Three years later, all three are top-50 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Surtain, Campbell and Samuel all went in the first two rounds Thursday and Friday, highlighting a spectacular first two days of the NFL Draft for South Florida.
In the first two rounds alone, six players from across the Miami metropolitan area found NFL homes, including four from Broward and two from Miami-Dade County.
Surtain went No. 9 to the Denver Broncos, Campbell went 33rd to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the first pick of the second round and Samuel went 47th to the Los Angeles Chargers as the 19th pick in the second round.
Surtain was an All-American for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Campbell played for the Georgia Bulldogs and Samuel was the lone player from the trio to stay in state, spending three seasons with the Florida State Seminoles.
UCF Knights cornerback Aaron Robinson, a Deerfield Beach alumnus, also went in the third round Friday as the No. 71 overall pick to the New York Giants.
Two South Florida wide receivers also went in the second round and one defensive end went in the first.
Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Elijah Moore, who played with Samuel at St. Thomas Aquinas, went No. 34 overall to the New York Jets, one spot after Campbell. Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who was a state title-winning quarterback at Miami Northwestern, went 57th overall to the Los Angeles Rams, also in the second round.
Surtain was one of two first-round picks from the Miami metro area. Miami Hurricanes defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who played at Hialeah Champagnat Catholic, went 30th overall to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday.
With two picks in the first two rounds, American Heritage remains on track for a potentially historic Draft. Patriots coach Patrick Surtain said he expects seven of his former players to potentially be drafted this weekend, which would break the previous record for most players from a single high school selected in one draft.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Northwestern and Bradenton IMG Academy all share the record with four, although IMG Academy could break the record again this year, too.
The Raiders could match their record, too. Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Palmer went to the Chargers as the No. 77 overall pick in the third round, joining Samuel and Moore as former St. Thomas Aquinas players to be drafted. Raiders coach Roger Harriott expects at least one more to be picked this weekend.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 10:10 PM.
