CHICAGO — The San Francisco 49ers selected Appalachian State University defensive lineman Ronald Blair with the third pick of the fifth round (142nd overall) in the 2016 National Football League Draft on Saturday.

Blair is 26th NFL Draft pick in Appalachian State history and the first since Demetrius McCray was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Blair is the Mountaineers' highest draft pick since Brian Quick was chosen with the first pick of the second round by the St. Louis Rams in 2012. The 6-2, 284-pounder was also the first Sun Belt Conference player to come off the board in this year's draft.

The 2015 Sun Belt Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year, Blair led the conference with 19 tackles for loss (tied for 12th nationally) and ranked second in the league with 7.5 sacks as a senior in 2015. He also tallied 71 total tackles (third on team, t-26th in Sun Belt), two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception that he returned 30 yards for a touchdown in a 44-41 triple-overtime win over Troy on Oct. 31.

Blair started all 51 games that he suited up for during his Appalachian State career and finished with 53.5 tackles for loss (fifth in school history) and 20.5 sacks (10th in school history). In addition to being named the Sun Belt's top defensive performer in 2015, he was also a three-time all-conference honoree (Sun Belt - 2014 and 2015, Southern Conference - 2012) and an NCAA Division I FCS freshman all-American in 2011.

Blair becomes the eighth former Mountaineer currently in the NFL ranks and joins fellow Appalachian State alum Daniel Kilgore with the 49ers. The number of App State representatives in the NFL will soon grow even larger as several former Mountaineers are expected to sign as undrafted free agents throughout the weekend.