Urban Meyer knew that his 2015 squad was going to shatter a record.

The program never had more than three underclassmen in one class declare for the NFL draft. This year’s group tripled that total with nine, which was a staggering number considering that Ohio State only had 30 in its history leave early for the NFL.

But the Buckeye coach was not anticipating nine of his most talented players leaving for the NFL. In fact, he admitted it caught him a little off-guard.

One of those surprises, Meyer said, was safety Tyvis Powell.

Powell, according to NFL draft expert Matt Miller, isn’t projected to be selected in the top two rounds like eight of his teammates. But he was at least a fourth-year guy.

Ohio State had six players from the 2013 class declare for draft. The surprises from that group might’ve been Jalin Marshall and Eli Apple, both of whom were highly sought-after recruits and had plenty of success at OSU, but they hadn’t been in prominent roles at their respective positions yet.

In all, Ohio State was one underclassman short of tying LSU’s 2013 record of 10 players declaring early.

Meyer has Pat Elflein to thank for that.