I think they should do this. It would actually probably cut down on the number of early entrants if they let players go back to school regardless of draft position because teams would be less likely to draft an underclassman that they may lose.
Allowing Early Entrants Back to College Football Tricky, but Worth Exploring
By [URL='http://bleacherreport.com/users/838009-barrett-sallee'] Barrett Sallee , SEC Football Lead Writer Jun 25, 2015
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Mark Humphrey/Associated Press
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey
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Greg Sankey has only been on the job as SEC commissioner for less than a month, and he's already stirring the pot.
First, Sankey laid down what can only be viewed as a threat to conferences that allow satellite camps during the SEC's spring meetings in Destin, Florida, saying the conference will allow its coaches to do the same in 2016 if the SEC's current ban isn't adopted nationwide this year.
On Wednesday, Sankey dropped another potentially game-changing idea.
According to Matt Hayes of Sporting News, Sankey suggested that college football should look at mirroring the potential rule in college basketball that would allow players to return in late May after declaring for the draft.
"It’s not something that has been made portable for other sports," Sankey said according to Hayes, "but I would not forgo that that direction could be pursued."
That could open the door to a wide variety of possibilities ranging from players coming back only if they haven't signed with an agent, to a new "underclassmen draft combine" to, as Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com notes, something as extreme letting them come back after they've been drafted.
It's something that needs to be considered.
According to CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler, 24 of the 84 underclassmen who declared for the 2015 draft weren't selected. The previous season, 36 of the 98 underclassmen who declared—nearly 40 percent—didn't hear their names called.
While many of those players have found homes as undrafted free agents and are learning on the job while making a good chunk of change, the finality of having to make a decision based on the NFL's grading system of "first round," "second round" or "neither"—which essentially is a suggestion to go back to school—makes it a risky proposition.
"That would be interesting," said former Texas A&M running back Trey Williams, who left College Station after his junior season and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent. "If I could do that, I wouldn't right now just because I feel like I'm ready for the NFL. But I'm sure there are a lot of guys who wish they could go back. Once you decide, it's a do-or-die and you either make it or you don't."
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Former Texas A&M RB Trey Williams
Plus, there's the added weight of deciding to leave your team only to come back later in the offseason.
"It'd be kind of awkward coming back, because you already left the team," Williams said. "But it's what's best for you, and I do feel like people deserve a second chance."
That doesn't necessarily mean players who weren't drafted regret their decisions.
Williams signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins and has impressed in the short time he's been with the organization. That didn't come as a surprise to him.
"I was confident in what I was doing," Williams said. "I had confidence in myself, so it was a lot different for me. I came in thinking that it either was going to happen or it wasn't, and I gave my all. I know that if I give my all, I can't complain in the future. If my all wasn't enough, I would have been cool with that. I wasn't really worried about it. I kept giving my all, and here I stand right now."
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
Washington Redskins RB Trey Williams
The draft process for early entrants isn't just hard on the player. Trainers who get players prepared for the NFL draft would have to alter they way they go about their business.
"If a kid wants to train, you're depending on that kid to pay you," said David Irons Sr., owner of Georgia Training Alliance in Lawrenceville, Georgia. "When the agents pay for training, they pay at least a week or two before the kid comes and our training starts. If a kid declares and doesn't sign with an agent, if you're at that level and unsure, you really shouldn't come out."
The specifics of how and when early entrants return to college could be the trickiest part.
"Underclassmen have until January 15, and most colleges are out during that time," said Irons. "From January to May, when the draft comes, if you wait until then you've missed spring practice. Football's not like basketball. A seven-footer is going to be a seven-footer whether he skips two weeks or not. In football, installation, new playbooks and everything else is done during that time. If you miss spring practice, somebody else, a freshman or whoever could come take your job."
Then, of course, there's the elephant in the room—how to prevent players from declaring and taking money from agents without signing with them?
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
Washington Redskins RB Trey Williams at Texas A&M's 2015 Pro Day
Some sort of fall-back plan, though, would reduce the finality and the speed in which college players must make their decisions on their football future.
Whether it's mirroring the current plan in college hoops and allowing players to declare and explore their options without signing with agents, or something more extreme like Solomon mentioned (which the NFL likely wouldn't sign off on, but it's at least a thought), the number of underclassmen going undrafted in a professional sport in which careers are short and contracts aren't guaranteed has reached epidemic levels.
In a world where college athletics is increasingly putting the well-being of the student athlete at the forefront, allowing a return to college football for players who want to test the NFL draft waters in a more complete fashion than a simple talent evaluation by the league is necessary.
It would give the player more information on what he needs to work on, reduce the stress of making a potentially life-changing decision in a short period of time and benefit both levels of football.
It's a no-brainer to at least explore different options and put them all on the table.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
[/URL]
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...o-college-football-tricky-but-worth-exploring
Allowing Early Entrants Back to College Football Tricky, but Worth Exploring
By [URL='http://bleacherreport.com/users/838009-barrett-sallee'] Barrett Sallee , SEC Football Lead Writer Jun 25, 2015
Next ARTICLE »
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories
Mark Humphrey/Associated Press
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey
3.8K
Reads
9
Comments
Greg Sankey has only been on the job as SEC commissioner for less than a month, and he's already stirring the pot.
First, Sankey laid down what can only be viewed as a threat to conferences that allow satellite camps during the SEC's spring meetings in Destin, Florida, saying the conference will allow its coaches to do the same in 2016 if the SEC's current ban isn't adopted nationwide this year.
On Wednesday, Sankey dropped another potentially game-changing idea.
According to Matt Hayes of Sporting News, Sankey suggested that college football should look at mirroring the potential rule in college basketball that would allow players to return in late May after declaring for the draft.
"It’s not something that has been made portable for other sports," Sankey said according to Hayes, "but I would not forgo that that direction could be pursued."
That could open the door to a wide variety of possibilities ranging from players coming back only if they haven't signed with an agent, to a new "underclassmen draft combine" to, as Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com notes, something as extreme letting them come back after they've been drafted.
It's something that needs to be considered.
According to CBSSports.com's Dane Brugler, 24 of the 84 underclassmen who declared for the 2015 draft weren't selected. The previous season, 36 of the 98 underclassmen who declared—nearly 40 percent—didn't hear their names called.
While many of those players have found homes as undrafted free agents and are learning on the job while making a good chunk of change, the finality of having to make a decision based on the NFL's grading system of "first round," "second round" or "neither"—which essentially is a suggestion to go back to school—makes it a risky proposition.
"That would be interesting," said former Texas A&M running back Trey Williams, who left College Station after his junior season and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent. "If I could do that, I wouldn't right now just because I feel like I'm ready for the NFL. But I'm sure there are a lot of guys who wish they could go back. Once you decide, it's a do-or-die and you either make it or you don't."
Former Texas A&M RB Trey Williams
Plus, there's the added weight of deciding to leave your team only to come back later in the offseason.
"It'd be kind of awkward coming back, because you already left the team," Williams said. "But it's what's best for you, and I do feel like people deserve a second chance."
That doesn't necessarily mean players who weren't drafted regret their decisions.
Williams signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins and has impressed in the short time he's been with the organization. That didn't come as a surprise to him.
"I was confident in what I was doing," Williams said. "I had confidence in myself, so it was a lot different for me. I came in thinking that it either was going to happen or it wasn't, and I gave my all. I know that if I give my all, I can't complain in the future. If my all wasn't enough, I would have been cool with that. I wasn't really worried about it. I kept giving my all, and here I stand right now."
Washington Redskins RB Trey Williams
The draft process for early entrants isn't just hard on the player. Trainers who get players prepared for the NFL draft would have to alter they way they go about their business.
"If a kid wants to train, you're depending on that kid to pay you," said David Irons Sr., owner of Georgia Training Alliance in Lawrenceville, Georgia. "When the agents pay for training, they pay at least a week or two before the kid comes and our training starts. If a kid declares and doesn't sign with an agent, if you're at that level and unsure, you really shouldn't come out."
The specifics of how and when early entrants return to college could be the trickiest part.
"Underclassmen have until January 15, and most colleges are out during that time," said Irons. "From January to May, when the draft comes, if you wait until then you've missed spring practice. Football's not like basketball. A seven-footer is going to be a seven-footer whether he skips two weeks or not. In football, installation, new playbooks and everything else is done during that time. If you miss spring practice, somebody else, a freshman or whoever could come take your job."
Then, of course, there's the elephant in the room—how to prevent players from declaring and taking money from agents without signing with them?
Washington Redskins RB Trey Williams at Texas A&M's 2015 Pro Day
Some sort of fall-back plan, though, would reduce the finality and the speed in which college players must make their decisions on their football future.
Whether it's mirroring the current plan in college hoops and allowing players to declare and explore their options without signing with agents, or something more extreme like Solomon mentioned (which the NFL likely wouldn't sign off on, but it's at least a thought), the number of underclassmen going undrafted in a professional sport in which careers are short and contracts aren't guaranteed has reached epidemic levels.
In a world where college athletics is increasingly putting the well-being of the student athlete at the forefront, allowing a return to college football for players who want to test the NFL draft waters in a more complete fashion than a simple talent evaluation by the league is necessary.
It would give the player more information on what he needs to work on, reduce the stress of making a potentially life-changing decision in a short period of time and benefit both levels of football.
It's a no-brainer to at least explore different options and put them all on the table.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
[/URL]
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...o-college-football-tricky-but-worth-exploring
