"Talent" is kind of a difficult thing to quantify in general; there are tons of players who don't get the same kinds of opportunities that others do, simply because of some kind of perceived weakness in their abilities or physical stature.
"Draftable talent" is a little better in that after having a chance at the collegiate level to prove themselves, athletes get a second chance to show how professional leagues how talented they really are. And for handy bragging rights, ESPN.com put together a fun little list that used a weighted score to determine which schools are the best at getting athletes into the eight pro leagues that they used as their criteria (pro hockey, baseball, men and women's basketball, football, lacrosse, softball, and soccer).
Here's where Ohio State landed:
10. Ohio State Buckeyes
Ultimate Draft score: 1051.9
Total players drafted, 2009-18: 105 (see Ohio State's first-round picks).
Biggest draft-producing sports: Football, men's lacrosse, women's basketball
Seeing Ohio State in the top 10 of these rankings shouldn't come as a surprise. But what might open eyes is how the Buckeyes landed here. The football program has cranked out 60 NFL draft picks since 2009 -- only Alabama and LSU have more -- but Ohio State has had only one other sport produce double-figure draft picks in that span. And kudos if you guessed men's lacrosse. The Buckeyes have had 17 players taken in the MLL draft, while they've had seven each selected in the NBA, WNBA and first 10 rounds of the MLB draft.
Hell yeah, lacrosse! Maybe that Spring Game combo is starting to make a little more sense after all.
