To nobody’s surprise, it was two underclassmen who chose to enter the NFL draft who went first among Sooners.

Perhaps a bit of a surprise, certainly in the context of everybody’s best guess several weeks ago, neither wide receiver Malcolm Kelly nor linebacker Curtis Lofton were chosen in the first round of Saturday’s NFL draft, conducted in New York at Radio City Music Hall, and it was Lofton who went first.

Only one player in the entire Big 12 was taken in the first round, when Tampa Bay chose Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib with the 20th selection.

Oklahoma fans might have perked up for the first time when Atlanta selected Lofton with the 38th pick, also the sixth pick of the second round. Thirteen selections later, the Washington Redskins chose Kelly No. 51 overall.

Lofton was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season. A native of Kingfisher, he didn’t become a full-time starter until last season, his junior year. But he made the most of it, leading the Sooners in tackles with 157, 94 of them solos. He intercepted three passes and made 101⁄2 tackles for losses.

At one time, Kelly was thought to be a first-round selection and maybe the first wide receiver taken in the draft. But after failing to break 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, his stock tumbled.

Lofton is the first Sooner taken by the Falcons since defensive back Terry Ray in the sixth round in 1992. Lofton makes it seven Sooner linebackers to be drafted since Bob Stoops became coach at Oklahoma. The others are Rufus Alexander, last year, Clint Ingram, in 2006, Lance Mitchell, in 2005, Teddy Lehman, in 2004, Rocky Calmus, in 2002, and Torrance Marshall, in 2001.

“Curtis was a catalyst for our defense and a part of the first back-to-back championships in Big 12 history,” Stoops said. “He has outstanding instincts and an explosiveness that allows him to close quickly.”

Other Sooners, including Joe Jon Finley, Garrett Hartley, Allen Patrick, Reggie Smith, Marcus Walker, Darien Williams. and D.J. Wolfe could be taken today as the draft picks up in the third round.