Hopefully he does not become another Trev Faulk.. I do wish him the best. I am sure Saban would tell him if he is not ready. He tried to tell Trev Faulk
IMO a bad decision. Of all the possible juniors he is the least ready. The more I think about it I could see a team that uses a 3-4 pick him high, but I don't know about a team that uses a 4-3. Whatever he decides I wish him the best.
I feel exactly the opposite. I believe that when our program reaches the top tier of college football, less and less players will leave early. I bring this up everytime a thread like this gets started, but Saban did say he will only support underclassmen leaving early, if he feels that the player will be drafted in the first round. He doesn't believe you should leave early, unless it is to your benifit. He doesn't want players hurting their chances or ending up like other LSU Jr's who left early only to not be drafted. I don't think we will have a lot of underclassmen jumping ship for the NFL. Some will do it, the draw of the NFL is just too strong. But when you build a program like this, players want to be a part of it, even the all stars. They want the exposure, the awards, and to be part of a winning program. Miami comes to mind, a lot of their former players are very close to the school and team. While some do leave early from Miami, it's not as many as you would expect. No matter how tarnished Miami's rep is, these players want to be part of it. We are building that here at LSU, although without the questionable legacy of a team like Miami.
I think this will be more a part of the natural process as we continue to improve and get top quality players. Saban can sell himself as being able to develop NFL suitable players and move them to the next level. This makes room for the next crop, etc. Look at Duke in basketball. They leave every year, but reload just as fast. On the otherhand, I hope the story is premature. I don't see where anybody else has picked it up.
I don't think we'll lose anything like three or four a year. Underclassmen thinking about leaving early or counselled by NFL experts (former coaches, scouts, etc). They are advised if they are 1st or 2nd round probabilities. If not, they are greatly encouraged to stay in school. As with Faulk, it doens't always work... sometimes they'll leave, anyway. But, most often, it does. Remember, no cut contracts and big signing bonuses are not given to players chosen in rounds 3-7, so most players will realize its in their best interest to stay put.
clayton has already said he is staying. I think with him staying spears will stay too. I do think its a bad idea for hill to leave. He was one of the last ones I thought would leave. O couldn't find the story though were is it at on the page?
