SEC coaches discuss options for football players to return to college after declaring for draft

Bret Bielema wants to see college football trend toward basketball when it comes to players reconsidering their draft status.

At this year’s SEC league meetings, the Arkansas head coach is stating his case for underclassmen to have additional time to potentially reconsider their choice if they enter the NFL draft.

Most SEC coaches who spoke to reporters Tuesday were in agreement that players receive poor information from outside sources when deciding whether to go pro or return to college. Therefore, Bielema believes those who participate in college football should have the option, much like basketball players do, of testing the NFL waters before making a final decision.

The NCAA’s Division I Council passed a rule that allows college players to declare for the NBA draft, work out for teams and then head back to college if they decide to. Bielema would like to see something similar for college football.

“There are two things we in common,” Bielema said. “The NFL doesn’t want players early that aren’t ready. And the NCAA doesn’t want them to leave too early. It makes too much sense to not have it happen.”

Of the 107 underclassmen who declared for the 2016 NFL draft, 30 were not taken. That number rose from 24 in 2015, although both numbers were around a 28 percent clip of underclassmen who went unselected.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is open to Bielema’s idea. The more information college players receive means a more informed decision they’ll make, Smart said. But Smart acknowledged some of the challenges that will naturally arise when trying to implement this.

For starters, who will pay for the training leading up to any workouts an underclassman will participate in? In order not to lose amateur status, a player cannot receive outside funding to work out, which usually comes from an agent during the pre-draft process. In addition, how will the student-athlete manage going to class while workout out full time?

With National Signing Day coming on the first Wednesday every February and with the NFL Scouting Combine arriving a few weeks later, the timing doesn’t seem to work out either. If a player declares for the draft, a coach may not be able to count on that scholarship any more. So the chance could arise that a program signs a player to replace a departing one, only to have the original player wanting to come back after feeling the NFL out.

“I think you’re going to have all kinds of problems and issues with that,” Smart said. “The timing of those decisions is what makes it tough because the combine is after National Signing Day. So all of a sudden a kid says he’s coming back, and ‘Uh-oh, we weren’t expecting you to come back.’ There are some logistics to work through for sure. But I do think it’s alarming with how many underclassmen are coming out and not getting drafted. Why are they coming out and not getting drafted? Is it because they’re getting bad information? I don’t know.”

Just because the idea sounds good to some football coaches doesn’t mean it will work. Georgia basketball head coach Mark Fox said he’s still waiting to see if the rule implemented in his sport this year will prove beneficial in the long run.

Players have up to 10 days after the NBA combine to decide whether to come back or not, with the league announcing 117 early entry candidates for the 2016 draft from the college level.

“We’ll see on draft day if it was really effective,” Fox said. “I think there are so many kids leaving early that only get a sip of the coffee and not a real career. That’s concerning to all of us.”

While one idea for football players is to allow them to attend the NFL combine and then return if they choose, another is to bring NFL personnel to college campuses for a junior pro day, so that they can sit down with players one-on-one and provide first-hand information to them.

This is something Alabama head coach Nick Saban believes could benefit those who are looking to make the jump without messing up the NFL’s draft timeline.

“If you ask the NFL how can we maintain trust with our players when you’re giving us inaccurate information, their response is, ‘We don’t know enough about the guys to really give you the information because all we can really go on is film evaluation,’ ” Saban said. “That’s why we have a combine and all these other things.”

But changes, in an effort to improve decision-making, might not necessarily work out as intended if the SEC decides to propose such football legislation to the NCAA’s Division I Council. While the NCAA could alter its basketball rule without affecting the NBA draft timeline, the same may not be possible when it comes to the NFL.

“It’s a good idea,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “There’s likely some thought and work that needs to be contributed to see if that good idea can become a reality.”

While other SEC coaches expressed worry that players have been receiving bad information, South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp said that hasn’t come from the teams themselves. Muschamp believes colleges are, for the most part, getting the correct information about players from NFL circles.

But Muschamp noted that he has told players about their draft standing only to have them declare based on someone else’s information.

“Anything we can do to give them better information I’m for, obviously,” Muschamp said. “But we’re giving these guys pretty good information. There are some young men and some don’t like school. They’re going to go out in the draft; let’s be for real, OK. And regardless if they get drafted or not, they’re going to think they’re going to make it and be fine.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 8:27 PM with the headline "SEC coaches discuss options for football players to return to college after declaring for draft."