No one is surprised that some Ohio State underclassmen are considering a jump to the NFL, but there was close to an audible gasp in today’s press conference when Jim Tressel revealed he’d submitted 13 names (either red-shirt Juniors, true Juniors or red-shirt Sophomores) to the league. Coach pointed out, the Buckeyes do have a large junior class, and wondered if the NFL is happy about all the work he’s created for them by requesting information on the 13. Tressel wouldn’t list all 13 names, but said if you look at the roster, you can pretty much figure it out.
Well, let’s figure it out, we’ve got 8 confirmed, LBs James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, DE Vernon Gholston, DB Malcolm Jenkins, QB Todd Boeckman, WRs Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline, and T Alex Boone. DT Nader Abdallah and DB Anderson Russell both denied they were in the 13. So that leaves us with 5 to go, taking a look at the starters, Gs Steve Rehring and Ben Person fit the bill, as does TE Rory Nichol. As for Special Teams, P AJ Trepasso and PK Ryan Pretorius are Juniors as well, so there’s 13 names for you.
Let’s face it, for the vast majority of college students (students on the whole, not only student-athletes) attend college, not for some grandiose pursuit of higher learning, but to obtain the skills they need to enter the job market. If you’re a business major and some company offers you the job you’ve wanted for several years, even without a diploma, most people are going to take that opportunity. So, I have no problem with student-athletes leaving school early to pursue professional opportunities. The problem you run into, are the players who don’t have an unbiased assessment of their abilities and where they’re likely to be drafted.
So does this mean the Bucks are losing 13 more players? No. Most of the 13 are filing the paperwork to simply get feedback from the NFL and make an educated decision. Coach Tressel has told them the more information they have, the better off they are. Boeckman, Robiskie and Hartline all made it sound as if they will undoubtedly return, as did Laurinaitis. They can use the info to find out what they need to work on next season at OSU to improve their draft stock. Sure, some of them will like what they hear and enter the draft, that’s simply business as usual for any college football program that enjoys the success Ohio State has over the years.
Earlier this season Laurinaitis said he was definitely coming back for his Senior season, citing AJ Hawk as his example. Some mock drafts have the Minnesota native going as high as 2 or 3. Today, when given a chance to back away from his earlier comments about returning, Laurinaitis said “I’m definitely confident coming back with this team. I love Ohio State, I love it here and I’m having a good time.” Spin doctors could read a little wiggle room in there, Laurinaitis is only saying IF he comes back he likes his team’s chances for next season, but he might not be back, after all.
Honestly, I don’t know. I vividly recall 1998, following the Buckeyes win over Michigan, David Boston, a junior, was asked about playing possibly his final game at Ohio Stadium, and Boston defiantly said, “I’m only a Junior.” Yet, he declared early, was a first round pick, made plenty of money in the NFL, and then later ran into some problems. Can’t blame Boston for his decision. Laurinaitis said he wasn’t planning on thinking or talking about the pros until after the BCS Title game and that the NFL was a distraction to the team last season. As long as the Bucks take care of business on January 7th, you can’t blame any of these kids for leaving early.
I’ll have much more on the Buckeyes media day in the coming days, Mike Miller will join me for a Buckeye Insider Year in Review Show on December 26th and January 1st, both nights at 10:00pm and we’ll have a BCS Title Game preview Show January 2nd, also at 10:00, and we should have a big announcement tomorrow.