Nick Saban was not able to attend the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville on Thursday night following hip replacement surgery, but that did not stop the Alabama head coach from making history.

Three Crimson Tide players were selected in the first round, giving Saban 34 first-round picks in his career. That total passed Penn State’s Joe Paterno (33) for the most in the modern draft era.

Most first-round draft picks in the modern era:

Nick Saban -- 34

Joe Paterno -- 33

Bobby Bowden -- 32

Woody Hayes -- 27

Mack Bown -- 21

Lou Holtz -- 20

Tom Osborne -- 19

Paul “Bear” Bryant 18

John McKay -- 18

Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was the first Alabama player off the board at No. 3 overall by the New York Jets. Offensive tackle Jonah Williams heard his name called eight picks later when the Cincinnati Bengals selected him with the No. 11 pick. Running back Josh Jacobs rounded out the trio at No. 24 overall to the Oakland Raiders. All three were underclassmen.

Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The Crimson Tide was unable to extend its streak of four players taken in the first round of one draft to three straight years (2017, 2018), but it was the eighth draft since 2010 that Alabama had multiple players selected in the first 32 choices. Jacobs was the 29th player of Saban’s UA tenure to be taken in the first round -- eight more than his team’s 21 losses since 2007-08.

2009 -- Andre Smith (No. 6, Cincinnati)

2010 -- Rolando McClain (No. 8, Oakland), Kareem Jackson (No. 20, Houston)

2011 -- Marcell Dareus (No. 3, Buffalo), Julio Jones (No. 6, Atlanta), James Carpenter (No. 25, Seattle), Mark Ingram (No. 28, New Orleans)

2012 -- Trent Richardson (No. 3, Cleveland), Mark Barron (No. 7, Tampa Bay), Dre Kirkpatrick (No. 17, Cincinnati), Dont'a Hightower (No. 25, New England)

2013 -- Dee Milliner (No. 9, New York Jets), Chance Warmack (No. 10, Tennessee), D.J. Fluker (No. 11, San Diego)

2014 -- C.J. Mosley (No. 17, Baltimore), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (No. 21, Green Bay)

2015 -- Amari Cooper (No. 4, Oakland)

2016 -- Ryan Kelly (No. 18, Indianapolis)

2017 -- Marlon Humphrey (No. 16, Baltimore), Jonathan Allen (No. 17, Washington), O.J. Howard (No. 19, Tampa Bay), Reuben Foster (No. 31, San Francisco)

2018 -- Minkah Fitzpatrick (No. 11, Miami), Da’Ron Payne (No. 13, Washington), Rashaan Evans (No. 22, Tennessee), Calvin Ridley (No. 26, Atlanta)

2019 -- Quinnen Williams (No. 3, New York Jets), Jonah Williams (No. 11, Cincinnati), Josh Jacobs (No. 24, Oakland)

Alabama’s three selections tied Clemson and Mississippi State for the most in the first round.

The second and third rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft will begin Friday, April 26, at 6 p.m. CT in Nashville. Players like tight end Irv Smith Jr., safety Deionte Thompson, linebackers Mack Wilson and Christian Miller and running back Damien Harris could be next off the board.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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