by Steve Carpenter-Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Former Hutchinson Community College defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt became the 11th Blue Dragon to be selected in the NFL Draft on Thursday Night in Las Vegas.
Taken with the 28th overall pick in the first round by the Green Bay Packers, Wyatt becomes the highest drafted Blue Dragon player in program history and the second Blue Dragon ever selected in the first round.
Wyatt, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive tackle from Decatur, Georgia, surpassed Cordarrelle Patterson as the highest-ranked Blue Dragon in NFL Draft history. Patterson was taken with the 29th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Wyatt becomes the first Blue Dragon drafted since Gerald Everett (Rams), Alvin Kamara (Saints) and Jeremiah Ledbetter (Lions) were all selected in the 2017 Draft.
Combining drafted players and undrafted free-agent signees, Wyatt is the 35th Blue Dragon to be selected by an NFL team.
Wyatt joins Kevin Barry and Angelo Pease as Blue Dragons who were selected by the Packers. Both Barry (2002) and Pease (2013) were undrafted free-agent signees.
Wyatt played one season for the Blue Dragons in 2017, playing in 11 games. Wyatt finished with 30 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 quarterback sacks. He also had four quarterback hurries with one pass broken up and one blocked kick.
Wyatt had a season-high six tackles against Butler and had five tackles against Coffeyville.
Wyatt then transferred to the University of Georgia where he played 49 games over four seasons. Wyatt finished with 113 career tackles, including a career-high 39 in Georgia's 2021 national championship season.
In Georgia's national championship game victory over Alabama, Wyatt had four tackles and four quarterback hurries.
Wyatt was one of five Georgia defensive players taken in Thursday's first round.