Heisman Watch: Which Finalists Will Declare for the 2012 NFL Draft?

As we’ve seen in the past, being one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy certainly doesn’t guarantee a great collegiate player success in the NFL ranks, even if they happen to win the award.

Matt Leinart, Jason White, Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch, Troy Smith and Ron Dayne are just a few of the recent Heisman winners who never amounted to much in the pros.

Still, if you look over this year’s list of Heisman finalists, which is made up entirely of underclassmen, you’ll see three players who are likely going to be top-five picks in next year’s NFL draft if they decide to come out—Stanford QB Andrew Luck, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III and Alabama RB Trent Richardson.

Luck, Griffin and Richardson have all done enough at the college level to earn the respect and the trust of NFL scouts, and there’s really no reason that any of those three should come back for another season and risk the millions they would stand to make as a top draft pick in 2012.

Sure, if a guy like Griffin, who will go into Saturday night as the favorite for the award, somehow gets robbed, he would probably be motivated enough to return and make a run at the trophy in 2012, but it’s just not a wise business decision given the circumstances.

If I were a betting man, I’d put a heavy chunk of change on Luck, Griffin and Richardson all leaving at the end of this season, no matter who ends up with the Heisman.

While we know that LSU CB Tyrann Mathieu, who is only just a true sophomore, will be coming back, it will be interesting to see what Wisconsin RB Montee Ball’s decision ultimately is.

Ball had a terrific campaign in 2011, rushing for 1,759 yards and scoring 38 total touchdowns, but if he does decide to enter the 2012 draft at the end of the year, his ceiling will likely be nothing more than a second-day pick.

Even though he’s a great talent, it’s obvious that Ball benefited a lot from playing behind one of the biggest and best offensive lines in college football this season, and scouts know that he won’t have those types of gigantic holes to run through in the pros.

The 5'11’', 210-pound junior is a shifty runner with good balance, but he isn’t exactly a burner, and it remains to be seen if he can actually break into the low 4.5 range in the 40-yard dash.

Still, there’s really no reason for Ball to return, seeing as he’s likely never going to convince NFL front offices that he’s worth a first-round pick, and if ever there was a year to go out on, this would be it.

That means that after the season, we’re likely going to wave goodbye to all four of the draft-eligible Heisman finalists.

It’s bittersweet, as college football is going to lose some big names after the season ends, however, that should open the door for some of the game’s emerging young stars to step up and state their case for the Heisman in 2012.