Draft leftovers

Underclassmen who didn't get pick should have options

With the draft over and minicamps already under way, it's a good time to look at what happened to the 38 underclassmen who came out early.

There's no doubt that leaving college for the pros was a good idea for the 12 first-round selections. Julius Peppers, Roy Williams, Donte Stallworth, Jeremy Shockey, Albert Haynesworth and Phillip Buchanon lead a group of 22 players who were selected on the first day. They all now know they're going to be in the NFL for at least a few years because they were drafted high enough to gain some job security, at least for the time being.

But what about the others? Four guys who gave up their college eligibility were picked on the second day of the draft. BYU running back Luke Staley was a very productive college player with a history of injury. He was picked in the seventh round by the Lions, the 214th player drafted. He should have stayed in school. Even worse than Staley, there were 12 underclassmen who weren't even picked.

The consensus opinion among NFL coaches that I talked to was that there should be a way back into college for these players. As one coordinator said, "We used to say they left college for hardship reasons, we ought to let them go back for hardship reasons, too. Baseball has figured out how to run a draft and let kids go back to school to play instead, why can't we?"

Here's my solution: Instruct these underclassmen not to sign with agents, have them continue to attend spring practice with their college teams and if they're not drafted by the end of the third round on Day 1, let them withdraw from the process and retain their eligibility. One longtime college coach now working in the NFL said, "There's almost a 'you deserved to be punished attitude' among some college people when players don't get drafted high." Though he added that most college coaches would love to have their underclassmen back.

For instance, Memphis lost two players with eligibility remaining, receiver Ryan Johnson and defensive back Glenn Sumter. Neither was drafted -- you can bet the Tigers could sure use them.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.

 

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