It's been 51 years since Cincinnati had a first-round draft pick. But Thursday night, the NFL Draft gave a glimpse at the strides of the program and where it's headed.

Cornerback Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner was selected with the No. 4 pick, by the New York Jets, the highest a Bearcats player has ever been selected. He's only the third player in Bearcats history drafted in the first round, the first since defensive lineman Bob Bell, who was selected with the No. 21 pick of the 1971 draft. Gardner is the highest Cincinnati player selected, just ahead of quarterback Greg Cook, who was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 1969 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Gardner has long been considered a top 10 draft pick. He had nine interceptions in his Bearcats career, three in each of the past three seasons. In 2021, Gardner also had 40 tackles and three sacks, both career-highs.

Perhaps most impressive, Gardner did not allow a single touchdown during his three-year college career. He had two himself off interception returns during his freshman season.

Gardner was a three-star prospect by Rivals.com in the 2019 recruiting class, the No. 39 player in Michigan. He chose Cincinnati out of 13 total scholarship offers, which also included Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky and Syracuse.