A year ago, a record 102 NCAA underclassmen gained eligibility for the 2014 NFL draft. 98 players were able to declare their intent to enter the draft because they were three years removed from graduating high school, while four others – including quarterback Teddy Bridgewater – were eligible because they graduated a year early.
The number of early entrants in the NFL draft has been on the rise for the last several years, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that number break the three-digit mark again for 2015. And with the college football season already over for many schools, players have begun to announce their decisions to forgo their senior seasons and pursue an NFL career.
We’ll use this post, which can be found anytime on our right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features,” to track those underclassmen who have confirmed their intent to enter 2015’s draft. Here’s the current list of early entrants for the draft, which will continue to be updated for the next several weeks. Players are listed in alphabetical order:
- Nelson Agholor, WR (USC)
- Jay Ajayi, RB (Boise State)
- Kwon Alexander, LB (LSU)
- Javorius Allen, RB (USC)
- Arik Armstead, DL (Oregon)
- Deion Barnes, DE (Penn State)
- Malcom Brown, DT (Texas)
- Alex Carter, CB (Stanford)
- Sammie Coates, WR (Auburn)
- Tevin Coleman, RB (Indiana)
- Jalen Collins, CB (LSU)
- Landon Collins, S (Alabama)
- Amari Cooper, WR (Alabama)
- Xavier Cooper, DE (Washington State)
- Christian Covington, DT (Rice)
- Ronald Darby, CB (Florida State)
- Mike Davis, RB (South Carolina)
- Stefon Diggs, WR (Maryland)
- Lorenzo Doss, CB (Tulane)
- Lemar Durant, WR (Simon Fraser)
- Mario Edwards, DE (Florida State)
- Durell Eskridge, S (Syracuse)
- George Farmer, WR (USC)
- Ereck Flowers, T (Miami)
- Dante Fowler, DE (Florida)
- Devin Funchess, WR (Michigan)
- Jacoby Glenn, CB (UCF)
- Eddie Goldman, DT (Florida State)
- Melvin Gordon, RB (Wisconsin)
- Dorial Green-Beckham, WR (Oklahoma)
- Deontay Greenberry, WR (Houston)
- Randy Gregory, DE (Nebraska)
- Todd Gurley, RB (Georgia)
- Chris Hackett, S (TCU)
- Eli Harold, DE (Virginia)
- Chris Harper, WR (California)
- Dee Hart, RB (Colorado State)
- Braylon Heard, RB (Kentucky)
- Gerod Holliman, S (Louisville)
- D.J. Humphries, T (Florida)
- Brett Hundley, QB (UCLA)
- Danielle Hunter, DE (LSU)
- Jesse James, TE (Notre Dame)
- Duke Johnson, RB (Miami)
- Nigel King, WR (Kansas)
- Tyler Kroft, TE (Rutgers)
- Marcus Mariota, QB (Oregon)
- Ellis McCarthy, DL (UCLA)
- Benardrick McKinney, LB (Mississippi State)
- Patrick Miller, T (Auburn)
- Tyler Moore, G (Florida)
- Andrus Peat, T (Stanford)
- Breshad Perriman, WR (UCF)
- Marcus Peters, CB (Washington)
- Jordan Phillips, DT (Oklahoma)
- Darius Philon, DT (Arkansas)
- Bradley Pinion, P (Clemson)
- Jeremiah Poutasi, T (Utah)
- Shane Ray, DE (Missouri)
- Josh Robinson, RB (Mississippi State)
- Shaq Roland, WR (South Carolina)
- James Sample, S (Louisville)
- Jean Sifrin, TE (UMass)
- Donovan Smith, T (Penn State)
- Jaelen Strong, WR (Arizona State)
- Shaq Thompson, LB (Washington)
- Max Valles, LB (Virginia)
- Trae Waynes, CB (Michigan State)
- Leonard Williams, DE (USC)
- Maxx Williams, TE (Minnesota)
- P.J. Williams, CB (Florida State)
- Trey Williams, RB (Texas A&M)
- Jameis Winston, QB (Florida State)
- T.J. Yeldon, RB (Alabama)
Thanks for the list been looking for this. I think 100+ underclassmen will soon be the norm in a few years.
I count 74. So unless a serious push in final day comes, should fall short of last year’s # (98 was it?)
It does look like the final number will fall short of last year’s, though it’s also possible that there are a number of players who have filed the paperwork and just not publicly announced it. I believe the official list comes out on Monday, so we should know soon!
— Luke