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NFL Draft: South Alabama WR Jalen Tolbert Selected in Third Round By Dallas Cowboys

Tolbert joins the Cowboys after rewriting the South Alabama receiving record books.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: FEB 02 Reese’s Senior Bowl Practice Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2021 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year was taken off the board on Friday when he was taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 88th overall pick.

Tolbert was the first player from any Sun Belt school to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Tolbert finished his career as the most prolific receiver in South Alabama history. He is now the school’s career leader in receptions (178), receiving yards (3,140), and touchdown catches (22). The Mobile native was named first-team All-American by both Pro Football Network and the Reese’s Senior Bowl, and a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele Publications in his final college season.

Tolbert is 6’3” and 190 pounds and ran a 4.49 second 40-yard dash and a 7.08 second cone drill. He also had a 36-inch vertical jump and a 123-inch broad jump at the combine. He’s a very versatile receiver who brings outfielder skills to his route running, which is to say he can change direction quickly.

The thing that’s most intriguing about Tolbert is he looks to be peaking at the right time to get his pro career started. While he was a two-star prospect coming out of high school and fought through injuries in the early part of his college career, he looked like the most NFL-ready player in the Sun Belt this year and it wasn’t close.