The New Orleans Saints selected Louisville defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins with the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft Thursday night.

Why is this of any concern to the Texas Longhorns?

Rankins was recruited by Charlie Strong and was a member of Louisville’s 2012 recruiting class, Strong’s second full cycle during his time with the Cardinals. Strong, the head coach at Louisville for four seasons (2010-2013), has now recruited 13 players who have gone through the Louisville program and emerged as NFL draft choices.

Rankins is the sixth first round pick over the last three drafts with ties to Strong. Safety Calvin Pryor (18th overall in 2014), defensive end Marcus Smith (26th overall in 2014), quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (32nd overall in 2014) and wide receiver DeVante Parker (14th overall in 2015) were all recruited by Strong at Louisville, while the current Texas head coach inherited defensive tackle Malcom Brown (32nd overall in 2015) upon arriving in Austin.

When combining his draft choices from the players he recruited and coached at Louisville with the five Texas players taken in last year’s draft, Strong has been responsible for recruiting and/or coaching 18 draft choices in six seasons as a college head coach. He’s expected to add to that number in this year’s draft as Texas defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway is likely to be taken in either the second or third round on Friday.

Each of Strong’s first two full recruiting classes at Louisville (2011, 2012) have now produced at least one first round draft choice and a total of four No. 1 picks. That number will be hard to replicate, but Strong’s first full recruiting at Texas has already produced three Freshman All-American players, three others who earned All-Big 12 recognition as true freshmen and several other players who are in a position to start as sophomores.

With elite players like linebacker Malik Jefferson, cornerbacks Holton Hill and Davante Davis, offensive linemen Patrick Vahe and Connor Williams, running back Chris Warren and wide receiver John Burt in the fold from the 2015 signing class, Strong has recruited a good nucleus of young players. He’s counting on several members of the 2016 signing class, particularly the seven defensive line signees, the three newcomers along the offensive line, and spring enrollees Shane Buechele (quarterback), Collin Johnson (wide receiver) and Zach Shackelford (center), to add to what’s already in place entering his third season on the job.

Time will tell how Strong and his staff will do when it comes to developing the talent currently on the Forty Acres or on the way. So far the results of what he can do once he’s got a roster of players he and staff have recruited suggest good days are ahead for the Longhorns.