Five former Colorado high school football players selected in the NFL Draft
Kalen Ballage, Daniel Carlson, JK Scott, Sam Jones and Jacob Martin — five former Colorado high school football players — were all selected in the NFL Draft on Saturday.
It is the first time since 2006 that five Colorado products have been selected in the same draft.
Ballage, a 2014 graduate of Falcon High School, was selected in the fourth round by the Miami Dolphins.
Carlson, a 2013 graduate of The Classical Academy, went in the fifth round to the Minnesota Vikings.
Scott, who graduated from Mullen in 2014, was also drafted in the fifth round, going to the Green Bay Packers.
Jones, a ThunderRidge alum from 2013, went in the sixth round to the Denver Broncos.
Martin graduated from Cherokee Trail in 2014. He was also drafted in the sixth round, selected by the Seattle Seahawks.
Ballage, Carlson, Jones and Martin are the first players from their respective high schools to ever be selected in the NFL Draft. Scott is the fifth former Mullen Mustang to be drafted.
Ballage, a senior running back out of Arizona State, went to the Dolphins with the No. 131 overall pick.
At Falcon, Ballage rushed for 2,690 yards and 35 touchdowns during the course of his career, including nearly 1,943 and 25 scores as a senior. As a senior, he was the Class 4A player of the year, and a member of the first-team all-state team.
Ballage measured at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds during the NFL Combine, where he also ran a 4.46 40-yard dash.
Ballage was the first Colorado product to be selected in this year’s NFL Draft. Last season, Valor Christian graduate Christian McCaffrey was the lone product selected, going in the first round.
This is the first time since 2012 and 2013 that products of Colorado high schools have been selected in consecutive drafts.
Carlson, a senior kicker at Auburn, was selected a round after Ballage, going No. 167 overall to the Vikings. He was the first kicker selected in the 2018 NFL Draft.
At Auburn, Carlson didn’t miss a point-after attempt in his career, going 198-of-198. He also made 92 of 114 field goal attempts, including 23 of 31 as a senior.
Carlson stood out at TCA, too, in both football and soccer. He made 14 of 20 field goal attempts for the Titans.
Carlson is just the third kicker from Colorado to ever be drafted, and the first since 1987, when Cherry Creek product Steve DeLine went to the San Francisco 49ers.
Scott, a senior punter at Alabama, went five picks after Carlson, at No. 172 to the Packers. He is the third punter from Colorado to ever be taken, and first since 1988 (Simla’s Barry Helton).
Scott set the Alabama record for career punting yards, as well as career punting average, and was part of two national championship teams.
At Mullen, Scott averaged 43.8 yards per punt as a senior. He also made 8 of 15 field goals as a senior, and 23 of 24 extra points. He also made a a 59- and 58-yard field goal with the Mustangs, and was named first-team all-state as a senior.
Jones was drafted by his hometown Denver Broncos with the No. 183rd overall selection, in the sixth round.
He finished his redshirt junior season at Arizona State last fall. He was a team captain for the Sun Devils last season, and was a three-year starter on the offensive line.
At ThunderRidge, he was a first-team all-state pick as a senior.
Martin, a senior defensive end from Temple, went to the Seahawks at No. 186 overall.
He had a stellar career at Temple, notching 11.5 career sacks, as well as 17.5 tackles for a loss.
During his career at Cherokee Trail, Martin helped the Cougars reach the Class 5A championship game.
He was a first-team all-state pick as a senior.
Find a complete list of former Colorado high school football players selected in the draft in our NFL Draft database.
