Only 4 of 90 NFL Underclass Draftees From B1G

Submitted by superstringer on

It's being reported that, of a record of about 90 underclassmen who declared for the NFL draft, only 4 are from the B1G.  Shazier and Roby, PSU's Robinson, and someone from Indiana.

To me, that says:  B1G players got their draft status reports back, and most of them sucked (looking at you, Braxton), so they all went back to school.

This speaks of the gulf between the Ess-Ee-See and B1G, doesn't it?  The NFL isn't salivating to get our players.

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HipsterCat

January 16th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

well if only us and OSU are pulling in top 25 classes according to seth in http://mgoblog.com/content/weeks-obsession-new-faces#more, it would imply that we are recruiting a lower percentage of the "freak athlete" that earns those higher rankings and thus may need the development and coaching from all 4 to 5 years of college to get that NFL attention. or maybe b1g athletes have come to play school and want that degree

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mlax27

January 16th, 2014 at 3:13 PM ^

On the bright side, the big ten keeping upperclassmen around while other leagues lose them could help the B1G close the gap on the field. 

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Sllepy81

January 16th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^

the big ten coaches preach to return for school and that the sec preaches to go pro so they can get more recruits if the player isn't needed badly.....I would like to think....not saying its true.

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LJ

January 16th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^

Something tells me SEC teams are not pushing to trade 1 NFL-quality senior for 1 extra recruit, though they might encourage players to go because it helps recruiting on the whole to send players to the NFL.

But the much simpler explanation is that SEC guys are just better.

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LSAClassOf2000

January 16th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^

The full list is here on NFL.com - LINK
 

Almost a third of the players are from the SEC, as you may have expected, but the Pac-12 is fairly well represented on the list as well. Notre Dame is sending more players than the whole of the Big Ten, as a matter of fact. 

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mh277907

January 16th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^

The Big 12 is only sending three, as well. Honestly, I think that this not only exemplifies the talent gap of the underclassmen between the conferences but also the depth gap. I would guess that some of those kids in the SEC decided not to return in fear of losing playing time to the freshman and sophomores waiting to replace them.

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thisisme08

January 16th, 2014 at 4:12 PM ^

This is my line of thinking too.  No coach in their right mind will turn down a proven player but if X player gets a middle round grade as a junior and they know the competition is so fierce for playing time (see: Bama, Ala) and all it takes is for them to tweak a knee in spring ball and their done, then I can see why so many are declaring. 

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Finance-PhD

January 16th, 2014 at 6:28 PM ^

I am curious what the impact will be from so many going early. The SEC was down this year and I think the fact that a quarter of NFL draftees were from the SEC had a part in that. The East lost more than any conference and the West was tied with the entire ACC, the next highest conference.

Not that they can't get bodies but having too many go out early does take away that depth that is needed late in the season.

How many early draftees have a degree though? I know you see a lot of guys in the SEC with a degree in 3 years but I don't know how many of those guys decide to go early.

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MJ14

January 16th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

The thing is there keeps beeing a record number of underclassmen entering the draft. Desmond was talking today and said people are giving them bad info. Probably half of the underclassmen who declared won't make a roster according to him.

I don't see this as the SEC is superior. It is the fact that a lot of the guys from the SEC buy into the hype that they are the best thing to ever happen to football, and so then they think they can leave early. Everyone talks up the SEC and the talent and these players get big heads and decide that even though they get late round draft analysis, that they'll make a roster. As Desmond said, if you don't get a round 3 or better, go back to school. 

Obviously some circumstances dictate that players will leave if they get a late round projection for different reasons, but some of these players just have big heads. They enter the draft with literally no chance to be drafted and even if they are, a lot will be cut. It's a bad trend. 

I think what should be looked at is how many of those SEC guys that entered last year as underclassmen either didn't get drafted or didn't make the cut. I'm not saying the Big Ten doesn't need more talent, because they do. But some of this has nothing to do with the SEC being loaded, and more to do with young guys make horrible decisions. 

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