Interesting take from Urban on the NFL evaluation for guys considering going pro early

By Killer nuts -10 December 2012
14 Comments
- Football

http://espn.go.com/colleges/osu/football/story/_/id/8729368/urban-meyer-...

Would love to hear people's thoughts on this. I wonder if anyone has ever looked at the projected round of early departure guys and their actual draft position

Brutus Greyshield on 10 Dec 2012 - 2:53pm #

Thanks for the link. I want to hear more of Urban unleashed on these GM's. ESPN whitewashes too many stories.

rdubs on 10 Dec 2012 - 3:00pm #

College coaches are in a tough spot. Short term they want guys to return to help them win, but long term it probalby helps recruiting if you are supportive of guys going pro (especially when they are ready). And publicly you pretty much always have to be supportive or you look like Pete Carroll when Sanchez declared (even if Carroll was right).

Buckeye Chuck on 10 Dec 2012 - 5:11pm #

We don't actually know if "Carroll was right." All we can gauge is where Sanchez was drafted, and it's hard to argue his draft stock could have risen much more had he stayed at USC. Would he have developed to become a better player had he not gone to the NFL? We'll never know, but the experience of Matt Leinart shows that staying in college doesn't ensure anything either.

If a first round pick winds up being a bust, it's just as easy to argue that they were smart to get the money while it was available.

The most "loud mouth, disrespect" poster on 11W.

brglr14 on 10 Dec 2012 - 5:33pm #

pete was right. question wasnt about improving his draft stock. it was was if sanchez was ready for nfl and hes not ready now.

I dont know karate but i do know crazy and i'm not afraid to use it.
&amp

rdubs on 10 Dec 2012 - 7:30pm #

I suppose "right" is a relative term, but the next commenter got at what I was hitting on in terms of readiness. Regardless, once it reaches that point you have to support your players in my mind.

IBLEEDSCARLETANDGRAY on 10 Dec 2012 - 4:06pm #

People outside OSU nation may argue that Meyer is only interested in keeping his team intact, but folks forget his first job is to teach young adults and to guide them toward their careers as any college instructor does. These spotty "evaluations" can and will destroy a player's future if theyre wrong. How many times have you seen sophomore and junior players leave early thinking they're bound for the big bucks and get drafted in 6th or 7th round and dont even make it out of training camp? One extra season in the college ranks might've made the difference between success at the next level and having to go back to college to find another career. Coach Meyer even told the Commish the system stinks. that tells me he's more concerned about his players getting shoddy advice than losing them to the pros.

"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever

lljjgg on 10 Dec 2012 - 5:14pm #

Absolutely. One more thing to consider is that often when these guys leave early, they're leaving without a college degree. An NFL paycheck is a tremendous boon, but as the 30 for 30 documentary on broke athletes showed, many guys who even make it to the star-level don't manage to keep that money for long. At least if they stay long enough to get a college degree they have something to fall back on.

JoeinCbus on 10 Dec 2012 - 5:47pm #

Presuming they've acquired a marketable degree. Many don't.

southbymidwest on 10 Dec 2012 - 6:27pm #

Ehh, many kids that aren't D-1 athletes graduate with a degree that is not necessarily marketable. Quite a few people end up in careers that have little to do with their undergrad degree. At least Buckeye athletes can come back and complete their degrees and not have to pay tuition, if I understand correctly. Which is something.

Matt20Buckeye on 10 Dec 2012 - 7:42pm #

They can always go back and finish school. If they leave early doesn't mean they cant come back if they don't make it. It would be on their own dime obviously.

Norwalk on 10 Dec 2012 - 9:01pm #

I'd like to see the NFL change their supplemental draft date to late January and only let underclassment enter the draft through the supplemental draft. Players would be allowed to exit the draft and go back to their college team if they are not drafted by the end of a round they predetermine before the draft starts. ex. Roby enters the draft but predetermines that he wants to come back to Ohio State if he is not selected in the 1st round. If he is selected in the 1st round (even as the last pick to a team he wouldn't necessarily want to play for) he automatically loses his college eligibility. If he doesn't get choosen in the 1st round then he would maintain his college elligibility and only be able to re-enter the draft during the next supplemental (if he still has elligibility left) or the regular draft after graduation. This would protect the NFL from being used like MLB as a way for kids to hold teams hostage by not signing if picked by a team they don't want to play for without being grossly overpayed and it protects the players who are led to believe they would be drafted higher than they actually are. It would still give college teams a couple weeks to manage their recruiting classes to account for losses and unexpected returners before national signing day.

741 on 10 Dec 2012 - 9:04pm #

I respectfully disagree. I am a far bigger fan of Buckeye football than I am of my NFL team of choice, but I believe these guys should have every possible opportunity to declare for the NFL draft - frankly I think the current system is too restrictive as it is.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan, and I would love Hank to be back here next year, but he (and all players) deserves the opportunity to go make a living in his chosen field without any strings attached.

GO BUCKS!

Norwalk on 10 Dec 2012 - 9:10pm #

I don't think you understood my post. It would allow a player to come back to school if not selected by the end of the round that he determines. My completely hypothetical scenario would give the player more options than the current system. He would not automatically lose eligibillity like he does in the current system and he wouldn't become a victim of unrealistic expectations if the draft didn't go in his favor. The only restriction is that he wouldn't be allowed to declare twice for the same draft) supplemental and regular in the same season.

741 on 10 Dec 2012 - 9:33pm #

I was commenting specifically on your suggestion to relegate underclassmen to a "supplemental draft" only rather than the actual NFL draft.

I don't really have an argument against allowing an underclassman to change his mind and withdraw from the draft and retain his eligibility, other than it would not really be fair to the NFL team who used a pick on a guy who then said, "No thanks."