Appalachian State alum defensive end Ronald Blair was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the third pick in the fifth round (124nd overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft on Saturday.
Blair became the 26th player in App State history to be selected in the draft and the highest selected player since former Mountaineer Brian Quick was chosen with the first pick of the second round by the St. Louis Rams in 2012.
Blair is the first Mountaineer chosen in the draft since the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Demetrius McCray in the seventh round in 2013.
After winning the 2015 Sun Belt Defensive Student-Athlete of the year, Blair finished his senior campaign with 19 tackles for loss (tied 12th nationally) and ranked second in the league with 7.