When the Super Bowl champion New York Giants picked Miami safety Kenny Phillips, it capped a big day for the ACC at the 2008 NFL draft.

Phillips' selection as the 31st and final pick extended Miami's coveted string of drafts with at least one first-rounder to 14.

Phillips' pick also gave the ACC seven draft choices in the first round, more than any other conference. The SEC and Pac-10 were tied for second with six choices each.

A year ago the SEC and the ACC combined for 17 picks (SEC 11, ACC 6) in the first round.

The ACC made some more draft history when Virginia defensive end Chris Long was taken No. 2 by St. Louis and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan was taken at No. 3 by the Falcons. It marked the third consecutive draft that the ACC has had two players among the top four picks. No other conference can make that claim. Long's choice also gave the ACC the top defensive player in the draft for the third consecutive year. N.C. State's Mario Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in 2006 (by Houston). Clemson's Gaines Adams was the first defensive player picked in 2007 (No. 4 by Tampa Bay).

The SEC had four of the top 10 picks for the fourth time in conference history and the second time in the past four drafts.

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the Heisman Trophy runner-up for the past two seasons, was the No. 4 overall pick by the Oakland Raiders. McFadden rushed for 4,590 yards in three seasons at Arkansas.

LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, the Outland Trophy winner, was the No. 5 pick by the Kansas City Chiefs. Dorsey was projected to go at No. 2 on a lot of draft boards, but St. Louis, Atlanta and Oakland passed, probably because of concerns over injuries that hampered Dorsey during the 2007 season.

Jacksonville traded for Baltimore's No. 8 pick and took Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey in a surprise pick. Harvey (6 feet 4, 271 pounds) had a great BCS championship game against Ohio State two years ago, but his production dropped last season.

Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo skipped his senior season to enter the draft. That decision paid off when Mayo (6-1, 242) was chosen by the New England Patriots at No. 10. Mayo can play the inside and outside linebacker positions, a major reason the Patriots brain trust took him that high.

Vanderbilt had a first-round pick for the second time in four years when offensive tackle Chris Williams became the No. 14 pick by Chicago.

When Felix Jones, McFadden's running mate at Arkansas, was taken by the Dallas Cowboys, that gave the SEC six of the first 22 picks in the draft.

The SEC had four of the top 10 picks in the draft in 2005, 1963, and 1951. In four other years (2007, 2000, 1989, 1965) the SEC had four of the top 12 picks.