The Nicholls Colonels football team, representing Nicholls State University, has had 16 American football players drafted into the National Football League (NFL). The highest that a Colonel has ever been drafted is the 3rd round/57th overall, which happened in 1987 with the selection of wide receiver Mark Carrier by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The most Colonels selected in a single NFL Draft are two. In the 1987 NFL Draft, Carrier was selected by the Buccaneers and quarterback Doug Hudson by the Kansas City Chiefs.