The NFL announced that 96 underclassmen have declared early for the 2016 NFL Draft, which is more than double the number that left early a decade ago. However, the 2014 record of 98 underclassmen leaving early still stands.
Here’s the list of 2016 NFL Draft early entries, with Ohio State and Clemson sending the most
This draft could be all about the Buckeyes. Here are all the players leaving school early.
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
| Year | Underclassmen leaving | Year | Underclassmen leaving |
| 2016 | 96 | 2011 | 56 |
| 2015 | 74 | 2010 | 53 |
| 2014 | 98 | 2009 | 46 |
| 2013 | 73 | 2008 | 53 |
| 2012 | 65 | 2007 | 40 |
In addition to those 96, there are 11 players who have graduated but are leaving with eligibility remaining, bringing the total to 107 players leaving early for the draft.
Ohio State led the way with nine underclassmen leaving, one shy of LSU’s record of 10 in 2013. Behind the Buckeyes were Clemson (seven), UCLA (six), Florida (five) and Notre Dame (four).
Underclassmen should dominate the draft this year. SB Nation's Dan Kadar projects the first nine draftees to be early entrants, as well as 23 of the 31 first-round picks. Kadar also lists eight of the top 10 players in the draft as early entries. Ohio State could have something like 14 players drafted, including the nine players leaving early, which would tie the record that the Buckeyes set in 2004.
| Number of early entries | ||
| Ohio State | 9 | Tyvis Powell (DB), Michael Thomas (WR), Eli Apple (DB), Vonn Bell (DB), Joey Bosa (DE), Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Cardale Jones (QB), Darron Lee (LB), Jalin Marshall (WR) |
| Clemson | 7 | Travis Banks (LB), Zack Brooks (RB), Mackensie Alexander (DB), Kevin Dodd (DE), T.J. Green (DB), Jayron Kearse (DB), Shaw Lawson (DE) |
| UCLA | 6 | Caleb Benenoch (OT), Kenny Clark (DT), Thomas Duarte (TE), Myles Jack (LB), Paul Perkins (RB), Alex Redmond (OG) |
| Florida | 5 | Vernon Hargreaves (DB), Alex McCalister (DE), Keanu Neal (DB), Demarcus Robinson (WR), Kelvin Taylor (RB) |
| Notre Dame | 4 | Will Fuller (WR), CJ Prosise (RB), Jaylon Smith (LB), Ronnie Stanley (OT) |
| Baylor | 3 | Andrew Billings (DT), Corey Coleman (WR), Xavien Howard (DB) |
| Arkansas | 3 | Alex Collins (RB), Hunter Henry (TE), Denver Kirkland (OT) |
| Mississippi State | 3 | Beniquez Brown (LB), Chris Jones (DT), De'Runnya Wilson (WR) |
| Ole Miss | 3 | Robert Nkemdiche (DT), Laquon Treadwell (WR), Laremy Tunsil (OT) |
| Florida State | 2 | Roberto Aguayo (K), Jalen Ramsey (DB) |
| Penn State | 2 | Austin Johnson (DT), Christian Hackenberg (QB) |
| Georgia | 2 | Keith Marshall (RB), Leonard Floyd (LB) |
| Nebraska | 2 | Vincent Valentine (DT), Maliek Collins (DT) |
| Oklahoma | 2 | Dominique Alexander (LB), Zack Sanchez (DB) |
| Auburn | 2 | Peyton Barber (RB), Avery Young (OT) |
| British Columbia | 2 | Terrell Davis (LB), Quinn van Gylswyk (K) |
| Cal | 2 | Jared Goff (QB), Kenny Lawler (WR) |
| LSU | 2 | Jerald Hawkins (OT), Rashard Robinson (DB)* |
| Alabama | 2 | Derrick Henry (RB), A'Shawn Robinson (DT) |
| Indiana | 2 | Jordan Howard (RB), Darius Latham (DT) |
| Arizona | 2 | Cayleb Jones (WR), Scooby Wright (LB) |
| West Virginia | 2 | Wendell Smallwood (RB), Daryl Worley (DB) |
| Delaware | 1 | Eric Enderson |
| Eastern Kentucky | 1 | Noah Spence (DE) |
| Marshall | 1 | Corey Tindal (DB) |
| Oregon | 1 | Bralon Addison (WR) |
| Houston | 1 | Demarcus Ayers (WR) |
| Duquesne | 1 | Trenton Coles (DB) |
| Bethune-Cookman | 1 | Dariusz Bladek (OG) |
| Pitt | 1 | Tyler Boyd (WR) |
| Western Michigan | 1 | Daniel Braverman (WR) |
| Miami | 1 | Artie Burns (DB) |
| Michigan State | 1 | Jack Conklin (OT) |
| South Carolina | 1 | Pharoh Cooper (WR) |
| Boise State | 1 | Kamalei Correa (DE) |
| USC | 1 | Su'a Cravens (LB) |
| Murray State | 1 | Elijah Daniel (DT) |
| Virginia Tech | 1 | Kendall Fuller (DB) |
| NC State | 1 | David Grinnage (TE) |
| Michigan | 1 | Willie Henry (DT) |
| Colorado State | 1 | Rashard Higgins (WR) |
| Stanford | 1 | Austin Hooper (TE) |
| Texas A&M | 1 | Germain Ifedi (OT) |
| Bowling Green | 1 | Roger Lewis (WR) |
| Rutgers | 1 | Steve Longa (LB) |
| Memphis | 1 | Paxton Lynch (QB) |
| Northern Iowa | 1 | Brett McMakin (LB) |
| Maryland | 1 | Yannick Ngakoue (DE) |
| Tennessee | 1 | Marquez North (WR) |
| Oklahoma State | 1 | Emmanuel Ogbah (DE) |
| Globe | 1 | Joe Powell (DB) |
| Texas | 1 | Hassan Ridgeway (DT) |
| Southern Oregon | 1 | Aldrick Rosas (K) |
| Oregon State | 1 | Isaac Seumalo (OG) |
| UMass | 1 | Tyrell Smith (OT) |
| Syracuse | 1 | Ron Thompson (DE) |
| Utah State | 1 | Nick Vigil (LB) |
| San Jose State | 1 | Cleveland Wallace (DB) |
| Washington | 1 | Dwayne Washington (RB) |
| Vanderbilt | 1 | Stephen Weatherly (LB) |
*Robinson hasn’t played for LSU since 2014.
Declaring for the NFL Draft is a big risk for underclassmen, because they are not allowed to return to college after they declare. That's different than in college basketball, where the NCAA just passed a rule to allow players to return to college after the NBA Combine. Football players have no such luxury.
See More:
