10 College Football Players We Wish Didn't Declare Early for NFL
Being selfish is okay. It's more than okay, actually. It's encouraged at times. And we here at Bleacher Report's college football department are super selfish when it comes to players moving on to the NFL.
While leaving early for the NFL is natural—why do something for free when you can, in the worst-case scenario, get paid league minimum?—there's a certain, shall we say, parental instinct we feel about it. These are players we've followed from signing day to draft day. We've watched them grow and become incredible players.
We're sad to see some of these players go, knowing they'll never play on Saturdays again. In the following slides are 10 of those players based on 2014 production, plus other variables like injuries and highlight reel plays.
Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota
1 of 10
Whether he's the first quarterback taken in the upcoming NFL draft or more likely, the second, Oregon's Marcus Mariota made the right decision to duck out—so to speak—on his final year of eligibility.
But that doesn't mean he wasn't an absolute joy to watch in college. Mariota was literally the most efficient quarterback in college football in 2014 with a 181.7 passer rating. He ranked near the top of the game in just about every major category: passing yards (4,454), touchdowns (42) and completion percentage (68.3). He threw just four picks and was always a threat to run.
Stats aside, Mariota made every play look easy—too easy, really. You rarely, if ever, got the impression that he wasn't in complete control of everything that was happening. For sure, he was a once-in-a-generation player for Oregon.
Alabama Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
2 of 10
Depending on who you listen to, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper could be the first player at his position taken in the upcoming draft. It's easy to see why.
After an injury-plagued sophomore season, you knew it was only a matter of time before Cooper bounced back. That prediction came to fruition. Nobody in major college football caught more passes in 2014 than Cooper (124 receptions). Only Rashard Higgins at Colorado State hauled in more receiving yards (1,750 to 1,727) than Cooper.
He's productive, yes, but an overall great receiver. He's as polished a route-runner as you're going to find at the college level, he's fast and can catch the deep ball and he's more physical than you might think.
As a centerpiece of Lane Kiffin's offense, Cooper was next-level good. Say what you want about Kiffin, but he knew how to call plays to put Cooper in winnable situations. Everyone, except opposing defenses, would have taken another year of that.
Georgia Running Back Todd Gurley
3 of 10
The picture says it all. That was everything that was Todd Gurley: explosive, exciting, fast and powerful. As a pure athlete, Gurley was the complete package at running back for Georgia.
His college career, in more ways than one, was shorter than fans would have liked. Gurley shot out of the gates as a freshman, starting 12 games and rushing for 1,385 yards and 17 touchdowns. However, an ankle injury his sophomore year forced him to miss three games. Last year, Gurley only saw action in six games because of an NCAA suspension and a torn ACL.
The Bulldogs were fine in Gurley's absence, as freshman Nick Chubb began his own legacy. However, you can't help but feel Gurley was given the short end of the stick in what folks already knew would be his final year in college.
Where Gurley will be taken in the draft is anyone's guess, but he's already a favorite of B/R draft specialist Matt Miller.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Texas Defensive Tackle Malcom Brown
4 of 10
One of the undeniable bright spots of Texas' 2014 season was defensive tackle Malcom Brown. At 6'2" and 319 pounds, Brown was an athletic force in the interior of the Longhorns' defensive line.
Brown wasn't simply eating blocks and letting everyone else collect all the stats. On the contrary, he led the team with 6.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. As far as mismatches go, there was almost no way anyone could block him without a double-team. That would pave the way for someone else to make a play.
Brown's athleticism and versatility make him a high draft pick, as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com notes:
"Penetrating big man who took a huge step forward as an NFL prospect in 2014. Brown has hand quickness and uses hands like an NFL starter. His instincts and feel off the snap help him to get into the backfield quickly. Some personnel men believe Brown can play multiple spots along the line in a 4-3 or 3-4 defense, which could put him in play for a high number of teams.
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Texas' defense is experiencing a ton of turnover from last year's team, which could be a major problem if the offense doesn't pick up the slack. Brown should crush it in the NFL, but watching him create havoc in the backfield every week from the inside of the defensive line was way too much fun.
Arizona State Wide Receiver Jaelen Strong
5 of 10
The 2015 wide receiver class for the NFL draft has the "Big Three": Amari Cooper, Kevin White and DeVante Parker. However, Arizona State's Jaelen Strong shouldn't be too far behind.
Strong is an intriguing pro prospect. SB Nation's Stephen White, a former college and NFL player, has a comprehensive breakdown of Strong's game, but he doesn't quite know where he'll fit in at the next level. With the Sun Devils, Strong was unquestionably the No. 1 guy.
Besides White, perhaps no one was better at making contested catches last year than Strong. One of his most exciting plays of the year was a Hail Mary touchdown reception against USC. In that game, he had a career-high 202 receiving yards to go along with 10 receptions and three touchdowns.
Strong has great hands and can make the tough catches in traffic. As far as "wow" plays are concerned, Strong had dozens of them.
You can hardly blame Strong for starting the next chapter in his career, but if he teamed up with Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici for another season, he could have been even more fun to watch in 2015.
Florida State Defensive Tackle Eddie Goldman
6 of 10
Watching Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman eating other offensive linemen's lunch was probably one of the most entertaining aspects of 2014.
Like Malcom Brown at Texas, Goldman was the rare athlete on the inside of the defensive line who required double-teams. Otherwise, he was in the backfield making plays. Goldman led the Seminoles with four sacks and was third on the team behind Mario Edwards Jr. and Jalen Ramsey with eight tackles for loss. He also had a pass breakup and a forced fumble, so he was a disruptive force in other ways as well.
The departure of quarterback Jameis Winston will be seen as Florida State's biggest loss in 2015, and that's probably true. However, Goldman's absence will be felt just as much on the defensive side of things.
Minnesota Tight End Maxx Williams
7 of 10Everything that is wonderful and gorgeous about college football can be found in the above video of Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams.
Just a big ol' dude hurdling guys for a touchdown reception.
And that's why we'll miss Williams more than any other tight end leaving for the NFL, senior or otherwise. Williams was a straight-up playmaker for the Gophers and a mismatch nightmare in the passing game. The redshirt sophomore led the team with 36 receptions—more than double the second-leading receiver on the team. He caught eight of Minnesota's 12 passing touchdowns.
Obviously, that says a lot about the Gophers' offense as well. Running back David Cobb was the cornerstone of that unit. But Williams was an athletic freak who created a semblance of balance on offense for Minnesota.
"I've got a really good grade on him in terms of intangibles," said ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay during a teleconference, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. "Everyone I've talked to around the program—he knows what it takes to be a pro. Good work ethic, the family, obviously, his dad, his grandfather [were football standouts], and I haven't heard anything negative in that regard."
Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston
8 of 10
Regardless of how you feel about Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston away from the field, he was fun to watch on it.
No, the sexual battery allegations can't and won't be ignored, even though he was never charged and later cleared in a code of conduct hearing. That allegation, true or false, will stay with Winston, fairly or unfairly, for a long time.
The other stuff, like the crab legs incident at a Publix, is all minor and sort of entertaining by comparison.
But purely as a player, Winston was a rare signal-caller. He made difficult throws look easy, and he unfairly took the blame for the majority of the 18 interceptions he threw in 2014. From his first college game against Pittsburgh, in which he went 25-of-27 for 356 yards and four touchdowns, everyone knew he was going to be a special player.
Winston might be viewed as the "NFL's problem" now, but he was a polarizing player who definitely made the game more interesting.
Miami Running Back Duke Johnson
9 of 10
Pittsburgh running back James Conner had a breakout season in 2014, leading the ACC in rushing (1,765 yards) and touchdowns (26). But not far behind was one of the conference's biggest stars, Miami's Duke Johnson.
Certainly, Johnson was one of the ACC's most electric players. He had the highest yards-per-rush average (6.8) of anyone in the conference at his level of production. As Miami's No. 1 back, he was capable of scoring just about every time he touched the ball.
You don't want to overwork a running back, especially if he's not a bruiser, but you could always make the case that Johnson could have had more touches.
From Johnson's first game in 2012 against Boston College, Hurricanes fans knew they had a gem. Johnson scored two touchdowns on runs of 54 and 56 yards, respectively, and finished with 135 yards on just seven carries.
We'd take four years of that if we could.
Missouri Defensive End Shane Ray
10 of 10
There aren't many players who truly emerged in 2014 like Missouri defensive end Shane Ray. With the departures of Michael Sam and Kony Ealy, the Tigers had a tall task in reloading the defensive line. However, head coach Gary Pinkel did just that with Ray and Markus Golden.
Ray led the SEC with 22.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks and was named the conference's defensive player of the year. Yes, Ray was right to strike while his draft stock was hot, but another year terrorizing SEC offenses would have been just fine as well.
The thing that stuck out the most about Ray was that he was constantly playing at a high level.
"What jumps out first of all is his motor, right? This guy has an unbelievable motor," said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to Jim Corbett of USA Today. "He's going to get plenty of NFL sacks just because he's going to keep coming relentlessly."
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
