12 College Football Players We Wish Would've Stuck Around for Their Senior Year

A record-setting 65 underclassmen declared for the 2012 NFL draft, and as college football fans there is more than a handful of these players we wish would have stayed on campus.

Yes, the financial allure of the pro ranks must prove irresistible, especially to guys who arguably haven’t been compensated relative to income generation, but in many cases it still would be better for the game if they waited until after graduation to flee to higher ground.

The following slideshow highlights 12 college football players we wish would have hung on for just one more season of Saturdays.

While each individual guy and situation is unique, every premature exit leaves the landscape of the 2012 college football season forever altered.

As a note, the returning starters data utilized in this piece come via the work of the wizard-like Phil Steele.

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

It seems impossible to overstate how improbable Robert Griffin III’s 2012 season was.

The second-highest passer rating in the nation, 4,293 passing yards, double-digit wins for Baylor for only the second time in school history and the first time since 1980 and, of course, the Heisman Trophy.

RG3 was a class act, and though we’ll get to see if he can run with the big dogs in the NFL, it would have been intriguing to see how another year of maturity looked on field and then what the 2012 Bears could have achieved with just one more season.

Baylor returns 16 starters in 2012, but the lack of Griffin might change the on-field product drastically.

The upsides are that he leaves the program finally believing it can win in the Big 12 and the fact the Bears are recruiting among the top 50 teams in the land, meaning sustainable success is on the horizon.

Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon

Even before Darron Thomas suddenly declared for the NFL draft, Oregon had plenty of attrition to deal with coming into the 2012 season.

The Ducks welcome back only 15 starters this coming season and two of these are counted among the special teams units.

At QB, Thomas was almost an overlooked variable, at least from a national perspective, but this is a guy who consistently performed over two seasons as a starter to the tune of more than 2,700 yards, 30 TDs per campaign and then only single-digit picks each year.

The loss of Thomas, coupled with the departure of LaMichael James, simply makes the Ducks look less fierce in 2012 (especially given their average defense), which compromises an already less compelling Pac-12 race.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

With 1,679 yards, 21 TDs and a national championship ring, Trent Richardson will be an almost impossible act to follow.

While we will miss Richardson’s quiet dominance, he’ll be missed even more by a Tide team that has to rebuild what was arguably one of the best defenses in the modern era of college football.

Yes, both QB A.J. McCarron and Richardson back on the field in 2012 would have provided more time or Nick Saban and friends to rebuild a defense that returns only four starters.

However, now, without Richardson, Alabama is forced to also retool an offensive attack that ranked No. 16 nationally in rushing yards and only No. 69 in passing.

David Wilson, RB, Virgina Tech

If David Wilson had played for Michigan, Florida, USC or Texas he’d have already been awarded a Heisman Trophy and may well have competed for a national title.

Indeed, Wilson is one of the more dynamic, gifted and flat-out freakish players we’ve seen in college football in recent years, and this fact is somewhat subdued by the fact that he played for a Hokie team that didn’t win the ACC.

Though Virginia Tech has more defensive holes to fill in 2012 (it returns only three starters defensively to nine starters offensively), Wilson will be missed by a throng of enthusiasts who delighted in his spell-binding athletic gifts.

David Wilson truly had the type of skills to be one of the most exciting seniors in college football next season.

Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona State

Do you remember all the hype surrounding Arizona State coming into the 2011 season?

Yes, it was the new “Fear the Fork” campaign, and with a heap of returning starters and a weakened inaugural Pac-12 South race, this was finally going to be the year Dennis Erickson turned the corner at ASU.

Fast-forward eight months and Erickson is unemployed on the heels of a 6-7 season that included five consecutive losses to close out the season to the likes of UCLA, Washington State, Arizona, Cal and then finally Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

However, amongst the gnashing of teeth we find QB Brock Osweiler, who performed well enough to be the No. 7 guy nationally in terms of passing yards.

Osweiler will be missed for two reasons. First, here’s a guy who only served as a starter for one year and in that time showed a lot of promise; though he might not win a bunch of awards as a senior, he definitely could have turned into a high-caliber college QB.

Secondly, Osweiler would have added a valuable ingredient to what will be a very young team under first-year head coach Todd Graham.

The Sun Devils return only 10 starters (No. 116 in the land) in 2012 from a team whose statistical highlight was passing yards, meaning that Osweiler returning could have been a real positive for both Arizona State and in terms of creating a challenger to USC in the South. 

Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

There is nothing in the world like a string of six consecutive regular=season losses to murky the waters on a stunning individual performance.

And that’s precisely what Illinois’ historic 2011 skid did to DE Whitney Mercilus’ triumphant junior season.

Mercilus led the nation with 16 sacks last season and then earned the No. 2 spot nationally in tackles for loss with a whopping 22.5.

The Illini return seven defensive starters this season to a unit that ranked No. 17 nationally in scoring, No. 26 against the run and No. 3 vs. the pass in 2011, meaning that with Mercilus back on the field they could have been one of the best defenses in the country this season.

Mercilus was nothing short of dominant as a junior, and as much as incoming Illinois coach Tim Beckman will miss him, a wider audience will no doubt miss his scintillating Saturday performances.

Yes, here is a guy that as a senior would have had a shot at breaking Terrell Suggs’ 2002 single-season sack record of 24 (while at Arizona State).

Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

Have you ever sat around and wondered who has been college football’s leading tackler over the last three years?

Well, that guy is Boston College’s Luke Kuechly, who as a freshman in 2009 was the No. 2 tackler nationally and then in both 2010 and 2011 was the No. 1.

Kuechly has registered 565 total and 299 solo tackles over the last three seasons and has single-handedly reset the bar for college linebackers.

Coming into 2012 it’s obvious we’ll miss a guy who has been so blisteringly dominant, but the other angle for angst involves his team.

Yes, Boston College returns a whopping 19 starters in 2012 (nine offensively, nine defensively and one special teamer), giving it the No. 1 spot in the ACC and the No. 4 spot nationally in terms of experience.

So the million dollar question is fairly obvious: What would BC look like in 2012 with Luke Kuechly?

Missing you already...

Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

Even though the Honey Badger will still be in the house, LSU and its throng of fans will no doubt miss the services of CB Morris Claiborne, who is NFL-bound.

Claiborne was tied for No. 6 nationally in 2011 with six picks, and his 173 yards of thrilling INT returns netted him the No. 2 spot in the country.

Morris Claiborne was one of the key cogs in last season’s LSU defense that ranked No. 8 nationally against the pass and No. 2 in scoring, and it’s important to remember this is a team that played nine ranked teams in 2011.

While he might not be as flashy as other guys, Claiborne may be one of the most missed players in college football in 2012.

LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

Want to be further bedazzled by LaMichael James’ career at Oregon?

Well, in 2011 James led the nation in rushing yards per game, despite the fact that he missed the Arizona State and Colorado games due to injury.

Yes, here’s a guy who was also No. 2 in total rushing yards and No. 9 in TDs regardless of the fact he only played in 12 games.

We’ll definitely miss James’ speed and athleticism, but you’ve got to figure the Ducks will miss him even more. Much is made of Oregon’s inherent ability to quickly reload speedy athletes down the pipe, but James is the type of athlete that may be harder to replace than originally advertised.

Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

Justin Blackmon’s strength and speed over his two-year career as a starter at Oklahoma State netted 3,304 receiving yards, 38 TDs, a 23-3 record, a Big 12 title and a BCS Fiesta Bowl victory.

Now, who’s not going to miss that?

Regardless of the fact that QB Brandon Weeden has finally graduated from college, Blackmon as a senior would have been the top receiver in college football and, along with six returning starters on offense and eight on defense, the Cowboys' future would have been even brighter.

Yes, we’ll miss Blackmon’s stunning performances, but we’ll also miss his contributions to Oklahoma State dethroning of Texas and Oklahoma and the now decreased potential of a repeat coup d’état.

Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama

Though you might not find Dont’a Hightower’s name atop the individual statistical charts, his contributions to the Tide defensive triumph in 2011 are immeasurable.

Hightower was a key element in what arguably was the greatest defense in modern college football.

Don’t think so?

Alabama ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring defense, No. 1 in rushing defense and No. 1 in passing defense.

The Tide gave up, on average per game, a measly 8.2 points, a minuscule 72.15 yards of rushing and miserly 111.5 yards through the air.

Alabama returns a mere four defensive starters from their 2011 defensive unit, and the loss of each contributor should be carefully noted, especially so in the case of Hightower, who had another season left in the tank.

Matt Kalil, OT, USC

One of the truly stunning stats from 2011’s USC product was the fact that QB Matt Barkley was sacked only eight times.

To put the number in perspective, it’s important to note Barkley threw the ball a whopping 446 times.

The only other guys that were sacked fewer times with more attempts were Boise State’s Kellen Moore, who was sacked seven times in 439 attempts, and Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill, who threw 531 passes and was only caught nine times.

To further illustrate the magnitude of the stat, Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson was sacked 22 times on 309 attempts and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III was sacked 27 times on 402 attempts.

One way to explain the phenomenon is by saying that Matt Barkley is athletic, but the more palpable explanation is that he played behind a cracking offensive line.

And this is precisely why OT Matt Kalil’s decision to opt for the draft over his senior season at USC is so critical, and therefore why he’ll be so missed.

So, you don’t care about Matt Kalil, Matt Barkley, USC or Lane Kiffin?

Well then, I’ll ask you this: Are you ready to see somebody dethrone the SEC from the national championship picture?

Exactly.