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Should I stay or should I go?
It’s a question that proves perplexing to a number of third-year college football players on an annual basis.
The NFL implemented a new system last year to give draft advice to underclassmen designed to discourage players who won’t be early-round picks from entering early.
But there’s only so much you can do to dissuade young men from chasing millions of dollars, particularly those from impoverished families or those who fear another year in college could lead to an injury.
Sometimes, third-year players are NFL-ready, will get drafted early and have great careers. Plenty of SEC juniors become first-round picks on an annual basis, and this year will be no exception.
Here’s the latest news on which SEC players plan to declare for early NFL draft entry, which plan to return and who still has to announce a decision.
WILL ENTER NFL DRAFT EARLY
- Florida DE Alex McCalister (Gators players intend to enter the NFL draft)
- Florida RB Kelvin Taylor (Gators players intend to enter the NFL draft)
- Georgia LB Leonard Floyd (Floyd declaring for NFL draft)
- Georgia RB Keith Marshall (will not apply for medical hardship)
- Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche (It’s draft prep instead of Sugar Bowl for Nkemdiche)
- South Carolina WR Pharoh Cooper (Star SEC WR headed to NFL early)
LIKELY TO ENTER NFL DRAFT EARLY
- Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III (Gators DB ‘most likely’ will declare for NFL draft)
- Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell (Rebels WR leaning toward NFL draft)
CONTRADICTORY REPORTS
- Florida WR Demarcus Robinson (Jim McElwain says Robinson will enter draft | Robinson disputes McElwain)
NOTABLE PLAYERS TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER
- Alabama RB Derrick Henry
- Alabama DL Jonathan Allen
- Alabama DT A’Shawn Robinson
- Alabama LB Reuben Foster
- Alabama LB Tim Williams
- Arkansas RB Alex Collins
- Arkansas TE Hunter Henry
- Arkansas G Denver Kirkland
- Auburn DE Carl Lawson
- Florida S Keanu Neal
- Georgia G Greg Pyke
- LSU CB Tre’Davious White
- LSU LB Kendall Beckwith
- LSU OL Ethan Pocic
- LSU OT Jerald Hawkins
- Ole Miss LT Laremy Tunsil
INTENDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL
- Florida DL Caleb Brantley (Gators DT will forgo NFL draft)
- Florida LB Jarrad Davis (Standout Gators LB ‘for sure’ returning for senior year)
- LSU TE Dillon Gordon (intends to apply for medical hardship)
- Ole Miss DL Fadol Brown
- Ole Miss TE Evan Engram (Ole Miss TE to return for senior season)
- Ole Miss DB Tony Conner (Hugh Freeze: Junior safety is for sure coming back)
Note: We used NFL.com’s draft tracker for research into this article.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
