Nearly 40 percent of underclassmen go undrafted

A troubling trend continues with underclassmen going undrafted. A record number of 98 declared for this year’s NFL Draft; 36 went undrafted, and nine of those were former SEC players.

RELATED: How did some of these SEC players not get drafted?

Nick Saban voiced his thoughts over the concerning trend, and he brought ideas to the table on educating players further in an effort to cut down on the number of players declaring then going undrafted. Saban suggested the following back in March to help eliminate the mass exodus of underclassmen.

“The way it’s going right now, I don’t think the NFL really wants all these guys coming out for the draft. They know they can develop better in college if they stay and play more, unless they’re going to be high draft picks,” Saban said. “It’s difficult for them to develop players the way they practice now, so if a player’s not a high pick, it’s much more difficult for them to develop as an NFL player. I even made the point that if we’re not going to do something like (an underclassman combine), maybe if a guy doesn’t have at least a top-three-round grade, you don’t even invite him to the combine.

“More guys go down at the combine than go up, because they’re not as fast,” Saban added. “And they don’t have a very good feel in comparison to all the other competition in the draft at their position. And when they come to that realization, it’s too late, the way we do it now.”

Saban’s idea of having a mini-combine series after bowl games and prior to the NFL Combine could help the perceived problem. It would let GMs, scouts and coaches put their eyes on prospects to get a stronger sense of where they’d ultimately be projected prior to the underclassmen declaration deadline.

Saban isn’t talking about elite prospects who are first- and second-round locks; he’s talking about players like Adrian Hubbard and others who had okay college careers and want to eagerly jump to the next level. Yes, injuries and grades have to be taken into context, and several players are going to leave regardless because of injury concerns.

Just last week, prior to the NFL Draft, Saban was concerned that as many as 30 or more underclassmen would go undrafted. Little did he know his 30 projection was low; it was actually 36.

“The thing that scares me the most about this is there may be 30 or more players this year because there are so many players that don’t even have the opportunity to make the team,” Saban said prior to the NFL Draft. “It’s not only not good for them, it’s not really good for the league and the NFL and it’s not really good for college football, either. I think we’re all losing if we continue to promote guys who aren’t high draft picks to go out for the draft early.”

So, who’s to blame for the perceived problem? ProFootballTalk said TV draft analysts, citing ESPN’s Todd McShay by name, are part of the problem. Below is a blip from the article on ‘draft gurus’, which is an interesting read.

McShay and those of his ilk routinely put ideas in the heads of players that have no relevance to what NFL teams actually think. Soon, McShay undoubtedly will unveil his incredibly-too-premature list of the top players for 2015, and he’ll include in that list — you guessed it — underclassmen. The fact that these guys left school early without being drafted isn’t entirely the fault of McShay. But it’s hypocritical, to say the very least, for McShay to chastise those who persuaded players to leave school early in order to put in years of service toward a second NFL contract when McShay is a sizable cog in the machine that ultimately supports the argument that these players should quit playing football for free.

Draft analysts are paid to stir up projections by media outlets. The article also cited McShay’s draft projections last May, but players don’t make decisions in May based on ‘way-too-early’ draft projections. It’s a much bigger problem that has multiple layers of parties who should take blame. Ultimately, however, it comes down to the player making the final decision, and a process that helps better educate players of their projection and gives them more information regarding their decision could help.

Here’s a look at the undrafted underclassmen from 2014 who all had remaining eligibility:

DB Nick Addison, Bethune-Cookman

RB George Atkinson, Notre Dame

S Dion Bailey, USC

RB Kapri Bibbs, Colorado State

RB Brendan Bigelow, California

WR Chris Boyd, Vanderbilt

WR Brandon Coleman, Rutgers

RB Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State

WR Austin Franklin, New Mexico State

DT Carlos Gray, North Carolina State

TE Xavier Grimble, USC

T Terrance Hackney, Bethune-Cookman

CB Vic Hampton, South Carolina

LB Adrian Hubbard, Alabama

CB Kameron Jackson, California

TE Nic Jacobs, McNeese State

DT Anthony Johnson, LSU

RB Henry Josey, Missouri

TE A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State

DB Albert Louis-Jean, Boston College

TE Colt Lyerla, Oregon

DE Chris McCain, California

DT Viliami Moala, California

RB Adam Muema, San Diego State

TE Jake Murphy, Utah

CB Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida

DL Kelcy Quarles, South Carolina

RB Darrin Reaves, UAB

OL Antonio Richardson, Tennessee

CB Marcus Roberson, Florida

QB Brett Smith, Wyoming

RB Jerome Smith, Syracuse

WR Willie Snead, Ball State

RB John Spooney, Brown

WR Josh Stewart , Oklahoma State

DL George Uko, USC

FS Pierre Warren, Jacksonville State

RB James Wilder Jr., Florida State

Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports