Elijah Klein becomes second UTEP alum taken in the 2024 NFL Draft

After a five-year drought without a selection in the NFL Draft, the Miners are on the board not once, but twice in 2024. After linebacker Tyrice Knight went 118th overall in the fourth round to the Seattle Seahawks, former UTEP guard Elijah Klein became the final pick of the sixth round when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tabbed him as their selection.

The 6-foot-4, 319-pound guard logged 55 career starts in the Sun City, and he's one of very few players in the history of the FBS to make starts in six different seasons. He redshirted in 2018 after starting four games for the Miners, then made six starts in 2019 and didn't miss a start in the four seasons that followed. He was a first-team All-Conference USA selection in 2023 after earning honorable mention all-conference honors in 2021 and 2022.

Originally a two-star signee in the class of 2018 out of Upland High School in Mt. Baldy, Calif., Klein is the first UTEP offensive lineman selected in the draft since Will Hernandez in 2018. His pro-day testing numbers included a 40-yard dash time of 5.32 seconds, a vertical jump of 26.5 inches, a three-cone time of 7.76 seconds and an 8-foot, 2-inch broad jump.

When the Buccaneers pulled the trigger on Klein with the 220th overall pick, they'd already bolstered their offensive line with a first-round selection of Duke center Graham Barton. The Bucs' other picks included Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell (second round), Georgia safety Tykee Smith (third round), Washington wideout Jalen McMillan (third round) and Oregon running back Bucky Irving (fourth round).

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