Nearly 30 SEC underclassmen are leaving school early for the lure of the NFL draft. Ten of the 14 SEC schools will have players who are leaving early. Georgia isn’t one of those. (Sometimes, inexperience has its pluses.)
With the way rookie contracts are capped these days, if you’re a junior who’s a major talent, it’s almost crazy not to leave as soon as you can, because the big money at the next level doesn’t come until you reach your second contract. If you look at Paschall’s list, you can see how that incentive is playing out. TAMU is losing its two best players. South Carolina, which was also a pretty young team in 2013, takes a major hit on the defensive line. Florida will feel some pain in the secondary.
And then there’s LSU. The Tigers lost 11 underclassmen last year and lose another seven this year. They’ll still roll along. Miles probably deserves even more credit for being a very good recruiter than he already gets.
In any event, early attrition can’t be a bad thing for Georgia’s 2014 chances.
Get The Picture 
The only time a player should stay is if he has no chance of going to the NFL. In most cases, their future does not hold a lot of the glory they experience in their CF days.
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I’m sure you understand that your two sentences completely contradict one another.
The glory of CFB would be exactly the reason to stay, despite a high draft number. Do you think Peyton Manning would take that SEC title back? Do you think David Pollack would give that victory over Florida back?
South Carolina is weird. They were a very young team, but the lost a lot of their game changers. Clowney changes everything for every other position on defense. And Shaw was a gamer and I think Thompson is a significant step down there compared to Murray vs. Mason.
We know what it’s like to lose the best pass rusher in school history and somehow think that your defense is going to somehow magically get better.
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Thanks for breaking that down, Sugar Daddy! I
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I’ve watched a fair amount of SC football the past few seasons given my prior city of residence, and I know a good number of SC alums. I think a lot of SC fans generally would make the argument that Dylan is as good, if not better, QB than Shaw
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And I know a lot of UGA fans that for 3 years cried and swore that Mason was as good, if not better, QB than Murray 😉
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Dylan Thompson is a decent player but not even in the same league as Conner Shaw who is probably the most under-rated college QB I have ever seen. I hope some NFL team gives Shaw a chance because if they do he will not disappoint that team. The guy is a gamer. It would not surprise me to see him, if given a fair chance by the right team, beat out the incumbent like Wilson did at Seattle and take his team to the playoffs in his first season.
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There is no reason for a college player to play for free when he can get paid for it. Fortunately the NFL is sane enough to have the rule about being 3 years removed from high school, in order to limit the silliness that goes on in the NBA. But any guy who comes back for extra years is just nuts. Just ask Matt Barkley.
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I totally agree. It’s also one reason redshirting talent should be a last resort. If they can contribute, they should play.
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I think Richt definitely learned his lesson with Knowshon on that one, only getting two years of time on the field with him. We have definitely seemed more open to playing freshman since then, even if it’s primarily on special teams.
And while I think the sentiment applies to all positions, RB is definitely the one that if a guy can go pro and get a decent draft spot, it doesn’t make sense to come back. RB’s have become a dime a dozen it seems like in the NFL, and the second you lose a step, you’re tossed aside for the next guy. Other positions, guys can lose a step and still hang on for a long time, but RB’s get churned like crazy. So you gotta get to the NFL as quick as you can.
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I can’t think of better fit for the culture at LSU than Miles. (Except Meyer at Florida. Gosh those two deserved each other)
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