Which College Football Freshmen Could Be One-and-Done If the NFL Allowed?

College football fans are stressed enough; imagine if they had to worry about their team's star freshman considering an early jump to the NFL.

It's a luxury for college football that players aren't eligible to be drafted until after their third season. Teams don't have to rush freshmen into action, and if someone breaks through in that first season they know they're going to stick around for at least three years.

Compare that to college basketball, where the ability to turn pro after one season—often referred to as being “one and done”—means many highly regarded players leave before they've really made their mark on the college game. According to NBC Sports, more than 20 freshmen college basketball players have declared for the NBA draft, with many of those having already signed an agent thus eliminating their opportunity to return to school.

If the opportunity to turn pro after one college football season existed, would there be any takers? Considering the amount of money at stake, the answer is certainly yes. But who would make the jump?

Out of the incoming 2016 freshman class, we've selected a handful of potential one-and-done candidates based on their skill set, their position and the likelihood they'd be coveted by an NFL team willing to draft someone so young.

Jacob Eason, QB, Georgia

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Quarterback might be the most high-profile position in football, but that doesn't mean that a top high school prospect could play in the NFL. The pro game is so much faster, and the players are so much bigger and stronger that even only a few select college juniors are worthy of getting drafted each year.

But if someone were to take a flier on a one-and-done college quarterback, Jacob Eason would be their first choice.

At 6'5” and 211 pounds, Eason already has the body of an NFL-level passer. He's also got the makings of all the tools (footwork, arm strength, poise) needed to succeed at the next level. This isn't based just on his impressive spring game performance on Saturday, when he was 19 of 29 for 244 yards and a touchdown, but also what he showed in high school and during various recruiting events leading up to his arrival in college.

NFL teams looking to take a quarterback early in next week's draft are hoping to find someone who can play right away. Drafting a freshman quarterback would be with the knowledge that he wouldn't be ready to compete for a year or two, but at least he'd be developing within that team's system.

Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan

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It makes sense that the highest-rated high school basketball players end up making up the bulk of the one-and-done entrants each year, since those recruiting rankings are based just as much on NBA potential as on how they'll fare in college. The top-rated prep basketball prospect in 247Sports' composite rankings has turned pro after one season every year since the 2011 class, including 2015 No. 1 Ben Simmons of LSU.

If one-and-done were a thing in football as well, then it would figure to begin with that sport's top-ranked recruit as well.

Rashan Gary signed with Michigan in February but isn't set to arrive until the summer. Even with that late start, the 6'5”, 293-pound defensive linemen is expected to be in the mix to play right away for the Wolverines. He's also already on the radar of pro scouts, all of whom will closely watch how the player Scout.com dubbed the most NFL-ready 2016 recruit develops as either a tackle or end.

Some NFL teams would love to get their hands on Gary as soon as possible so they could mold him into shape.

Daelin Hayes, LB, Notre Dame

247Sports

Notre Dame just said goodbye to one of its best linebackers ever in Jaylon Smith, who turned pro after his junior year despite a massive knee injury suffered in his final college game. The Fighting Irish were sad to see Smith go, but they knew a very similar player was on his way to South Bend, Indiana, in the form of Daelin Hayes.

Rated by 247Sports as the 10th-best outside linebacker in the 2016 recruiting class, Hayes enrolled early but was not involved in full spring workouts at Notre Dame because of a shoulder injury. Lack of contact aside, it's easy to see based on his size that Hayes is a top prospect, his 6'3 ½”, 257-pound frame already bigger than Smith ever was.

Notre Dame is grooming Hayes to take on Smith's hybrid linebacker/defensive end position, even going so far as to having Hayes wear Smith's No. 9 jersey this season.

"I believe that having him as a mentor and having him already pave the way, I believe that's going to help me exponentially in my process," Hayes told Bleacher Report. "I believe we're both freaks for our size, we're a new breed of linebacker."

The NFL loves identifying new trends, and quickly grabbing up a "new breed" of linebacker would fit in this area. However, Hayes' history with injuries—dating back to his sophomore year of high school, per the Detroit News—could make him a risky choice unless he can play a college season without getting hurt.

Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson

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NBA teams love to draft young big men, regardless of what they've done at the college level, owing to the belief that you can't coach size. It's why several of this year's college basketball freshmen who have declared for the draft did so despite rather unimpressive numbers.

If the same thought process were used for drafting college football freshmen, then someone as massive as Dexter Lawrence would be wise to take the plunge and enter the draft after 2016. At 6'5” and 340 pounds (per Clemson's online roster), Lawrence isn't going to get much bigger, but he can always improve his strength and agility.

Clemson will include Lawrence in its defensive line rotation this fall, and he'll get plenty of snaps playing alongside or in place of Carlos Watkins and Christian Wilkins. Wilkins, who is 6'4” and 315 pounds, had 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a true freshman last season and now is in line to start.

Whether or not Lawrence starts for the Tigers wouldn't impact his value in the eyes of the NFL, which still would look at his dimensions more than anything else.

Gregory Little, OL, Ole Miss

247Sports

He probably won't be the No. 1 overall pick in next week's NFL draft, but Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil will almost certainly be the first offensive lineman taken. Bleacher Report NFL draft expert Matt Miller had him going first to the Tennessee Titans, but after the Titans traded that pick to the Los Angeles Rams he's slotted Tunsil at No. 3 to the San Diego Chargers.

Gregory Little is penciled in as Tunsil's replacement at left tackle this fall, even though he's yet to enroll in college. Those are some big shoes to fill, but the Rebels are confident that the 6'5 ½”, 305-pound Little—rated by 247Sports as the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2016 recruiting class—can handle the challenge.

"We think he has the best feet in America," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said on signing day.

Stepping in for a first-round NFL draft pick and starting right away will look really good on a resume, so much so that Little could parlay one year of protecting quarterback Chad Kelly's blind side into his own leap to the pros.

Austin Mack, WR, Ohio State

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Former NFL head coach Brian Billick wrote in 2013 that wide receiver was the toughest position to transition from college to the pros, yet teams continue to draft highly skilled pass-catchers early on. The 2015 NFL draft saw six wideouts go in the first round and another three go in the second round, with five of those coming off their junior years of college.

In most cases, those players were drafted as much for their physical attributes—size, speed, agility—as for how they produced in college. There's a premium on big-bodied pass-catchers who can also outrun defenses, regardless of their age and experience.

Freshmen wide receivers figure to be an alluring draft option, especially if they already fit the mold. That's why Austin Mack, who stands at 6'2” and 210 pounds, would be high on NFL draft boards if he were eligible to come out in 2017.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who considers himself a chronic over-evaluator, nevertheless feels certain that Mack is going to be a major player for the Buckeyes this season. He told Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod that "Austin Mack continues to earn time" while also calling him "fantastic," and that was before Mack had three catches for 22 yards in OSU's spring game.

Kareem Walker, RB, Michigan

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If there's a position in which the NFL would be most likely to swoop in and grab draft-eligible freshmen, it would be running back. The average ball-carrier's pro career lasts fewer than 2.5 years, according to the Wall Street Journal, the result of the wear and tear that every rush puts on the body. But if they were coming into the league at a younger age, that window would presumably widen.

Plucking up a college rusher with only 200 or so carries on his body, compared to the 592 that potential first-round pick Ezekiel Elliott logged at Ohio State, would seem like a wise investment.

It would be even more enticing to grab a talented and promising young rusher who hardly took many hits as a freshman, such as Michigan's Kareem Walker. He'll play this fall, but with De'Veon Smith, Drake Johnson and Ty Isaac all back from last season his touches could be limited.

Much like many of the one-and-done college basketball players, Walker's draft stock would be based on potential rather than performance. And with the desire to get running backs into action as soon as possible, before their clock runs out, turning pro without much to show from the college game wouldn't make much difference.

Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com or Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.