Can a Houston football player be drafted by an NFL team for the 10th straight year?

For the last nine seasons, an NFL team has selected a Houston player.

Though the chances may not be as high in this year’s NFL Draft - which begins Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin - due in large part to the Cougars’ 4-8 finish last season, there might be a Cougar or two that may get chosen when the draft wraps up with the seventh round on Saturday.

One former Cougar who might hear his name called is quarterback Donovan Smith (6-foot-5, 235 pounds), who started all 12 of Houston’s games as a junior two seasons ago. He completed 64.5% of his passes for 2,801 yards and 22 TDs while adding 241 rushing yards and a pair of TDs over his last four games.

Last season, Smith passed for 876 yards and four TDs, completing 65.4% of his passes. He also rushed for 147 yards on 65 carries and three TDs.

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Smith is ranked No. 274 on the website NFLDraftBuzz. In a summary written on the site by Andrew Moore, Smith’s “physical tools and developmental trajectory make him an intriguing Day 2 prospect with Day 1 upside.”

Moore goes on to write that Smith’s “plus size, arm talent and mobility fit the mold of a modern NFL signal-caller. While he’s flashed the ability to make NFL-caliber throws, consistency will be the key to his draft stock in his final collegiate campaign.”

Another ex-Cougar who might get drafted is receiver Maliq Carr, who caught 19 passes for 186 yards - the fourth straight season he has had at least 100 yards receiving - with a TD.

NFLDraftBuzz.com has Carr ranked No. 376 in its list of the top 400 NFL Draft prospects.

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On the defensive side, draft prospects include lineman Keith Cooper Jr., and linebacker Michael Batton.

Cooper started all 12 games for the Cougars last season and led the team in sacks (3.5) and had 10 quarterback hits, second among edge rushers in the Big 12 Conference. He also finished with 46 tackles, a career high.

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Like Cooper, Batton also started all 12 games and finished with 94 tackles, good for fifth in the Big 12, and led the team in that category over the Cougars’ final five games. He also had three double-digit tackle games.

The Cougars’ current run of nine straight seasons with an NFL Draft selection is second among in-state schools, trailing only Texas A&M, which has had 17 straight seasons of draftees. At the moment, Houston has had 193 all-time NFL Draft selections.

Houston’s last first-round pick was defensive lineman Payton Turner, who went 28th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Denver Broncos are the team which has drafted the most former Cougar players with 12 in all.