NFL Draft Revisited: Clemson's 2011 Class

The 2020 NFL Draft runs Thursday-Saturday, when several Clemson Tigers will have their names called and dreams come true.

Today we continue the AllClemson.com series on some of the most memorable NFL draft classes of the Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney era, we continue with 2011 class.

Clemson was the only school in the nation to have three defensive players taken in the top 51 selections of the draft. It was the first time in school history that has happened. Clemson had three of the top 51 players selected regardless of position in the 2011 NFL Draft, tied for the second most selections within the first 51 selections.

Here’s a look at how the 2010 draft unfolded for five Tigers

Highest selection: Jarvis Jenkins

Jenkins, a local product of nearby Daniel High School (Central, SC), was a three-year starter for the Tigers, Jenkins recorded 158 tackles (31 for losses, the most in Clemson history at that time). He earned first-team all-ACC honors and was rated by ESPN as one of the top five defensive tackles in the draft.

Best Pro Career: Byron Maxwell

Maxwell's professional career spanned eight season, five of which were played with the Seattle Seahawks. The highlight of Maxwell's career came in 2014, when he started in Super Bowl XLIX and recorded five combined tackles during the Seahawks 28—24 loss to the New England Patriots.

Quotable: “Coach (Pete Carroll) did a good job of letting us know what it was going to be like, how crazy it would be with all the attention, all the media,’’ Maxwell said “And he just said ‘embrace it. This could be a once in a lifetime experience, so just enjoy it and make the most of it.’ That’s what we did.

“And then it was in New York, so it made it even more crazy, but we were prepared. And I think that really helped us. We didn’t make it a distraction. We enjoyed it. It was fun. Is there one thing I remember most? I can’t say that. It was just everything, the whole thing, just getting to the Super Bowl.’’

Most Cities: Former Tiger Marcus Gilchrist earns the distinction of being the most traveled member of the 2011 class. After experiencing the illusion of security in his first four season, all with San Diego, Gilchrist spent his next four season bouncing around five other teams — including the Jets, Texans, Raiders, Lions and Jaguars.

Draft Picks for 2011:

Defensive Tackle Jarvis Jenkins was named as the 41st selection by the Washington Redskins, defensive back Marcus Gilchrist was chosen with the 50th pick by the San Diego Chargers and defensive end Da'Quan Bowers was the 51st selection of the Tampa Bay Bucs.Offensive tackle Chris Hairston, running back Jamie Harper and defensive back Byron Maxwell were all selected on the third and final day of the NFL draft on Saturday afternoon.