Why Not Convert the BCS into NFL's Minor League? (Part Three)

Today

In today's world of college recruiting, schools like TCU end up ranked No. 45 or worse on average, but in an NFL-run draft system, they are suddenly on an even playing field with Texas, USC, Florida, and the rest of college football’s power programs.

This works out for every BCS division program, and in many, like Miami of Ohio or Arkansas State, it is a game-changer.

While TCU has gotten to the top 10 by evaluating talent and moving pieces to fit its system, USC and Texas just fill the coffers with the top recruits in state, year in and year out. It’s kind of hard to miss when you have the top five running backs of every recruiting class.

On the other hand, this system destroys many elite prospects' chances at getting to the next level.

Take a kid like Billy Hart, for example.

Billy was a high school All-American, who ended up sitting behind Matt Leinart and Matt Cassell, and never played a meaningful down of college football.

Instead of going to Cal or Stanford where he likely would have been the guy, he ended up going the baseball route, and until elbow surgery ended his baseball career, was a top prospect for the Houston Astros.

Athletes like that would end up drafted in the first round, and while not playing at USC, would have a chance to be successful in a good program.

Impact

Take a look at the Rivals Top 100 for 2010.

Number of recruits signed

USC: 10

Texas: 9

Florida: 9

Alabama: 7

Thirty-fve of the Top 100 or fully a third of the best recruits in the country go to these four schools!

Now take USC’s last five recruiting classes, and nearly 10 percent of the top 100 each year have gone to the Trojans.

Compare that to TCU, which has had not one top-100 recruit in the past five years...not one! But it has finished ranked in the top 25 four of the past five seasons, nevertheless.

2010 Draft

Based on the 2010 Rivals Top 100 and the NFL based college lineup, here is how the first-year draft might have evened things out in the first round.

Mock Draft Round One                                  Player                                      Signed

1. St. Louis Rams: Alabama                           Ronald Powell DE                   (Florida)

2. Detroit Lions: Texas                                    Seantrel Henderson OL          (USC)

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Florida                Kyle Prater WR                       (USC)

4. Washington Redskins: Ohio State             Sharrif Floyd    DT                   (Florida)

5. Kansas City Chiefs: Oklahoma                  Keenan Allen   DB                   (California)

6. Seattle Seahawks: Boise State                  Robert Woods ATH                 (USC)

7. Cleveland Browns: Cincinnati                     Dominique Easley                   (Florida)

8. Oakland Raiders: TCU                               Owamagbe Odighizuwa DE   (UCLA)

9. Buffalo Bills: Penn State                             Da’Rick Rogers WR               (Tennessee)

10. Jacksonville Jaguars: Florida State          Marcus Lattimore RB              (S. Carolina)

11. Chicago Bears: Notre Dame                    Michael Dyer RB                     (Auburn)

12. Miami Dolphins: Miami                              Jackson Jeffcoat DE              (Texas)

13. San Francisco 49ers: Oregon                  Robert Crisp OL                     (N.C. State)

14. Denver Broncos: Colorado                       Lamarcus Joyner DB             (Florida St.)

15. New York Giants: Oklahoma                    Latwan Anderson ATH            (Miami)

16. Tennessee Titans: Tennessee                 Jordan Hicks LB                     (Texas)

17. Carolina Panthers: Virginia Tech              Dillon Baxter RB                     (USC)

18. Pittsburgh Steelers: Pitt                            Chris Martin DE                      (California)

19. Atlanta Falcons: Georgia                          Spencer Ware ATH                (LSU)

20. Houston Texans: Texas A&M                   Christian Jones LB                 (Florida St.)

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Auburn                      William Gholston DE              (Michigan St)

22. New England Patriots: Nebraska              Shon Coleman                       (Auburn)

23. Green Bay Packers: Wisconsin               DeMarcus Milliner DB             (Alabama)

24. Philadelphia Eagles: Utah                         Markeith Ambles WR              (USC)  

25. Baltimore Ravens: BYU                            Matt Elam DB                          (Florida)

26. Arizona Cardinals: Arizona                       Lache Seastrunk RB               (Oregon) 

27. Dallas Cowboys: Texas Tech                  George Uko DT                        (USC)

28. San Diego Chargers: UCLA                     Joshua Shaw  DB                    (Florida)   

29. New York Jets: Syracuse                         Reggie Wilson DE                   (Texas)

30. Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota                   Gabe King DE                         (California)

31. Indianapolis Colts: Purdue                        J.R. Ferguson DE                   (LSU)

32. New Orleans Saints: LSU                         James Hurst OL                     (N. Carolina)

Don’t think this would change the landscape? Take a look at how these players are spread out now...

USC: 6 (three of the top six)

Florida: 5 (three of top seven)

Texas: 3

California: 3

LSU: 2

Auburn: 2

Florida St: 2

That is 23 of 32 picks going to seven schools. Seven!

Now add in another 96 schools, and we finish a first round that spreads the top 128 players across the entire BCS division.

Conclusion

Instead of USC getting three of the first six available, they get No. 2 on pick 129.

They still have the best available player in the draft, but instead of having another five of the first 32, they are now looking at a TE who would have gone to Iowa with that pick.

We are still looking at four-star athletes and legitimate All-American candidates, but gone would be the days of schools pulling in one in 10 of the top 100 prospects.

Even more than a playoff system that gave each conference a shot, this would level the field and give a school like Tulane a chance...a real chance.

NFL scouts would scour the country for gems, just as programs like TCU do currently, and programs like USC and Texas would have to drastically alter their recruiting/drafting programs to catch up.

What TCU, Boise State, and schools not in auto-qualifying conferences do every day would give them a leg up on the schools that just call on the blue chippers today.

Would the big Programs adapt? Most of them absolutely would, but some would not.

Next up: A look at walk-ons and true student athletes...