After six college seasons and four different programs, Romello Height heard his name announced by the San Francisco 49ers with the 70th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Friday night. It’s a huge payoff earned through relentless persistence and one of the most explosive breakout seasons the Big 12 has seen from an edge rusher in recent memory. Teamed up with David Bailey to form the only duo in the nation where both players recorded at least 10.0 sacks in a season. Height also racked up 11.5 tackles for loss in his lone season at Texas Tech in 2025. He also finished in the top six in the Big 12 in both categories while also forcing multiple fumbles for the Red Raiders. His production turned heads across the league and earned him top-30 visits with seven NFL teams, including San Francisco.
Height’s path to the NFL was anything but a straight line. He initially arrived at Auburn as a four-star recruit in 2020, but saw limited action over two seasons before transferring to USC. After a serious shoulder injury in 2022 kept him from game time, he battled back as a rotational player with the Trojans the following year before another move. At Georgia Tech, he started 12 games but managed only 2.5 sacks. It wasn’t until he landed in Lubbock that everything started clicking for Height.
Ten of his 16.5 career sacks and more than half of his career tackles for loss came in one single Red Raiders season. It was the kind of late-bloomer story that NFL scouts debate endlessly, asking if it’s the system or if it’s the player? The 49ers, who spent months studying the answer, clearly landed on the latter.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: From Lubbock to the Bay: 49ers draft Romello Height with No. 70 pick
Reporting by Lauren Beasley, Red Raiders Wire / College Sports Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
