College football programs love to use the NFL draft for promotional purposes. For example, check out any SEC school’s media guide.

Each one has an NFL section. Yes, even Vanderbilt’s.

In fact, the Commodores devote as many pages to the NFL as Tennessee does. Never mind that the Vols had more players drafted in 2002 than the Commodores did from 1986 through 1997. Each school’s 2005 media guide had five pages on the NFL.

The difference? UT’s NFL section had nine pictures; Vanderbilt’s had 32.

UT reduced its NFL section from nine to five pages last year after the NCAA required all schools to limit their media guides to 208 pages. Despite the NCAA-mandated reduction, Florida’s 2005 guide still had 11 pages on Gators in the NFL.

Schools showcase their players in the NFL for obvious reasons. It’s a testament to their success. And if that success has to be supplemented with lots of pictures, so be it.

How closely does success in the draft relate to success on the field in the SEC?

Answer: More closely than recruiting.

In 2004, Auburn went 13-0 and won the SEC championship. The following spring, four of its players were taken in the first round.

LSU won the SEC and national championships in 2003. A few months later, it led the SEC with seven players drafted.

Georgia won the SEC title in 2002. Although Florida and UT had more players (eight each) drafted in 2003, four of the first 37 players taken were Bulldogs.

What happened with Florida in 2002-2003 proves that success in the draft doesn’t always reflect well on your program or your coach.

In 2002, Ron Zook’s first as Florida’s head coach, the Gators went 8-5. In 2003, it tied for the SEC lead in NFL draft picks. That was just one more indicator Zook wouldn’t be the next Steve Spurrier — or the next Galen Hall.

The draft hasn’t always flattered UT, either. As much as the Vols achieved from 1993 through 2001, the draft suggests they should have achieved more.

Florida won four consecutive SEC championships from 1993 through 1996. In the four drafts that followed, it had 18 players taken, including five in the first two rounds.

UT had 22 players drafted overall and seven in the first two rounds in the same four-year period. Yet it lost four consecutive games to the Gators.

The Vols lost to the Gators again in 1997 but went on to win the SEC championship. The following spring, UT beat Florida 8-5 in draft picks.

The 1998 team was a wonderful exception for UT. It beat Florida on the way to winning the SEC and national championships. In the next draft, eight Gators, including four in the first two rounds, were selected; six Vols, including two in the first two rounds, were taken.

UT’s 1999 team was regarded as a classic under-achiever. The following draft backs that up.

After going 9-3 and failing to win even the SEC East, the Vols hit it big in the 2000 NFL draft. Of the nine Vols drafted, seven were taken in the first two rounds. Alabama, which won the SEC championship in 1999, had only three players drafted in 2000.

UT’s 2001 team almost played for the national championship, and the following draft indicates it should have. Of the 10 UT players drafted in 2002, three were first-round picks.

Yet the Vols lost the SEC championship game to a less-talented LSU team.

The draft underscored how big the upset was. Only five players from LSU’s conference championship team were drafted in 2002; other than second-round pick Josh Reed, none was taken higher than the fourth round.

That’s not the only draft that shows former LSU coach Nick Saban did the most with his talent. In five years at LSU, he won 48 games, two conference championships and one national title. But only 22 players were drafted during the same period, and just six were taken in the first two rounds.

But no one in the SEC did more with his talent than Bear Bryant.

Alabama won six national championships under Bryant. In the NFL or AFL drafts following those championships, 26 Tide players were selected, including only three in the first round.

After Alabama won the national title in 1961, five of its players were taken in the next pro drafts. Seven LSU players were selected in those drafts.

Following Alabama’s 1964 national championship, five of its players were drafted. Eight Ole Miss players were picked in the same draft.

After Alabama won national titles in 1965 and 1978, Kentucky had more players taken in each of the succeeding drafts.

Maybe the Bear didn’t poor-mouth as much as everyone thought.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.