Before Kyle Dugger heard his name called as the 37th overall draft pick four months ago, Lenoir-Rhyne did not have one of its player selected in two decades — not since defensive lineman John Milem was picked 150th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2000.
Milem and Dugger are two of just five players the Bears have ever had drafted since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, with the latter by far the highest selection Lenoir-Rhyne has ever had. This fact alone speaks for how big the transition from the Division-II school to the New England Patriots is.