COLUMBIA - The Chicago Bears picked South Carolina junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery with the 13th pick of the second round of the NFL Draft, the 45th player taken overall.

The MVP of the 2012 Capital One Bowl, Jeffery is the school’s all-time leader in career receiving yards with 3,042, the second-highest mark in SEC history. He also has the most 100-yard receiving games at Carolina (12) and is tied with Sidney Rice for the school record with 23 touchdown catches.

Jeffery’s selection gave the Gamecocks three players selected among the first 45 players taken in the 2012 NFL Draft. On Thursday, junior cornerback Stephon Gilmore was selected with the 10th pick of the first round by the Buffalo Bills, while senior defensive end/outside linebacker Melvin Ingram was taken with the 18th pick in the first round by the San Diego Chargers.

(USC Sports Information contributed to this report.)