For every Jadeveon Clowney or Blake Bortles, there's a James Wilder Jr. Despite being just one -third of a three-headed monster in Florida State's crowded backfield, the junior running back entered the NFL Draft with high expectations, but was left flailing in undrafted purgatory after the three day NFL Draft party lights turned back on.
He had plenty of company in the undrafted green room after Day 3 of the draft. For the fourth year in a row, the NFL Draft witnessed a record number of early entries. Unfortunately, these young athletes let the NFL's annual job fair without an employer at the highest rate in league history. Of the 98 underclassmen who threw their name into the NFL Draft hat, a record 36 players were unselected.
However, if a recent SEC proposal catches on across the nation, the NCAA may curtail these growing numbers of athletes leaving school for an uncertain future.
According to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, keeping your friends close and your enemies closer may be the solution to this burgeoning issue. In Slive's opinion, improved access to agents (aka the bane of every athletic department's existence) could presumably allow players to make better "career" decisions.
Another option that could be explored is the possibility of allowing underclassmen like Wilder to return to college football's ranks with their eligibility intact even if they've signed with an agent.
It's a solution that would challenge our current definition of amateurism, but unlike the Northwestern unionization, this assault on the establishment is coming from within. Not surprisingly, the leader of the NFL's most prolific pipeline is behind the proposal.
In an odd twist, athletic directors have suddenly begun altering the NCAA's gene sequence from the inside out. Change is coming and the NCAA may not have a choice.
