Early Entries: Monday Evening

Just one more quick post on early entries for the NFL draft because I am not a fan of this in regards to the college game.  Since there are over 80 players who declared themselves eligible for the draft, some of these kids are not going to be selected until the 3rd round or later.  What advice do these kids get because there will be some sad faces the day of the draft in April.

As for the college teams that lost a player or players, in my eyes they fall into three buckets.  

• Little or no impact
• Significant setback potential
• Hurts

Teams like Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, USC, and Florida seem to just reload after significant defections (harsh word I know) because they are built on great depth and great recruiting. Each of these teams will again contend for their conference title or the national title.

Other schools such as Washington, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech were teams on the rise, but have now taken a step back after losing some key pieces to their program.  They have been dealt a blow that might take them a year or two to recover.

Lastly, we have the teams that lose a superstar that helped them gain a division title or a bowl bid that will be hard to attain again in the near future.  Two key examples would be Wyoming, who lost their great running back Brian Hill, and Vanderbilt, who lost their All-American linebacker Zach Cunningham.

A couple of teams that I can't decide about at this time is the defending national champion Clemson Tigers and the Sooners of Oklahoma.  In years past they have had the depth to replace their key personnel, but I'm not so sure this year.  They will probably be ranked near the top 10, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them drop in the rankings.