NFL draft pick Cole Strange in rare company among Knoxville football players | Mike Strange

Congratulations to my newly rich nephew Cole Strange. “Uncle Mike” looks forward to getting to know Cole better once the details of his contract and signing bonus are ironed out.

Just kidding. I’m no kin to the former Farragut High School mauler who recently became the first-round draft choice of the NFL’s New England Patriots.

But like anyone who follows local football, it’s nice to see a hard-working underdog make something good happen for himself.

Strange was best known as a defensive lineman at Farragut. He first enrolled at Air Force Academy but quickly transferred to UT-Chattanooga to be closer to his family. A five-year starter for the Mocs on the offensive line, Strange won the Jacobs Trophy as top blocker in the Southern Conference.

Then the Patriots defied the mock-draft experts and selected Strange with the 29th pick of the first round. He’s got a realistic shot to start at guard as a rookie.

Strange’s success story sent me down the rabbit hole of local players and the NFL draft. Here’s a trivia bet for you:

None of the three Knox County products who were drafted in the first round played at Tennessee. Name them.

One, obviously, is Strange, a two-star prospect who wasn’t offered by Butch Jones.

Two is Harrison Smith, the 29th pick of the 2012 draft by Minnesota. The Knox Catholic safety played at Notre Dame.

Three is Chad Pennington, the 18th pick of the 2000 draft by the New York Jets. The Webb School quarterback played at Marshall.

There is the possibility I overlooked someone. If so, apology offered. First-round draft picks number in the thousands by this point.

The other two area first-round picks I found did play at Tennessee.

Charles McRae of Clinton High School was the seventh pick of the 1991 draft by Tampa Bay. That after a stellar career at offensive tackle for the Vols.

James “Little Man” Stewart of Morristown West was the 19th pick of the 1995 draft by Jacksonville. He impressed the Jags by rushing for 2,890 yards and 35 touchdowns at UT.

Tee Higgins of Oak Ridge just missed the first round. The receiver out of Clemson was the first pick of the second round in 2020 by Cincinnati, 33rd overall. His career is off to a nice start.

Three other local second-rounders prepped for the draft at Neyland Stadium. Reggie Cobb (Knox Central) went 30th overall to Tampa Bay in 1990. Bruce Wilkerson (Loudon) went 52nd to the Raiders in 1987. Jason Layman (Sevier County) went 48th to the Oilers in 1998.

And Randall Cobb from Alcoa went 64th to Green Bay in 2011 after playing at Kentucky.

Local third-rounders, we’ve seen a bunch of them. The first was Bob Foxx to the Chicago Cardinals in the 1941 draft. In a 10-team league, Foxx was the 17th overall pick. (For some reason, there were only five picks in the second round.)

The other third-rounders: Tim Irwin (Central), Craig Colquitt (South), Mike Cofer (Rule), Dustin Colquitt (Bearden), Amari Rodgers (Catholic), Todd Collins (Jeff County) and Mike Caldwell (Oak Ridge).

In case you’re wondering, John Bruhin and Ron Widby were fourth-rounders. Garrett Reynolds and Lee Smith went in the fifth round, Scott Galyon and Leroy Thompson in the sixth.

Bob Suffridge, UT’s only three-time first-team All-American, was a sixth-rounder in 1941.

Reggie and Raleigh McKenzie, the VFLs from Austin-East, were picked in the 10th and 11th rounds, respectively, in 1985. Both would leave a mark in the league.

Again, kudos to Cole Strange for starting on top.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Cole Strange, New England draft pick, stands apart in Knoxville