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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 19, 2010

NFL: 53 non-seniors apply for draft


Associated Press

NFL DRAFT NON-SENIORS

Kevin Basped, de, Nevada

Arrelious Benn, wr, Illinois

Eric Berry, db, Tennessee

Jahvid Best, rb, California

Navorro Bowman, lb, Penn State

Sam Bradford, qb, Oklahoma

Dezmon Briscoe, wr, Kansas

Antonio Brown, wr, Central Michigan

Dez Bryant, wr, Oklahoma State

Bryan Bulaga, t, Iowa

Morgan Burnett, db, Georgia Tech

Bruce Campbell, t, Maryland

Jimmy Clausen, qb, Notre Dame

Rennie Curran, lb, Georgia

Anthony Davis, t, Rutgers

Carlos Dunlap, de, Florida

Jonathan Dwyer, rb, Georgia Tech

Dominique Franks, db, Oklahoma

Clifton Geathers, de, South Carolina

Thaddeus Gibson, de, Ohio State

Jermaine Gresham, te, Oklahoma

Everson Griffen, de, Southern Cal

Rob Gronkowski, te, Arizona

Joe Haden, db, Florida

Aaron Hernandez, te, Florida

Kareem Jackson, db, Alabama

Chad Jones, db, Louisiana State

Reshad Jones, db, Georgia

Linval Joseph, dt, East Carolina

Darius Marshall, rb, Marshall

Ryan Mathews, rb, Fresno State

Rolando McClain, lb, Alabama

Gerald McCoy, dt, Oklahoma

Joe McKnight, rb, Southern Cal

Shawnbrey McNeal, rb, SMU

Carlton Mitchell, wr, South Florida

Joshua Moore, db, Kansas State

Derrick Morgan, de, Georgia Tech

Jerell Norton, db, Arkansas

Jason Pierre-Paul, de, South Florida

Maurkice Pouncey, C Florida

Brian Price, dt, UCLA

Dennis Rogan, db, Tennessee

Jevan Snead, qb, Mississippi

Amari Spievey, db, Iowa

Golden Tate, wr, Notre Dame

Demaryius Thomas, wr, Georgia Tech

Earl Thomas, db, Texas

Donovan Warren, db, Michigan

Damian Williams, wr, Southern Cal

Mike Williams, wr, Syracuse

Jason Worilds, de, Virginia Tech

Major Wright, db, Florida

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NEW DRAFT FORMAT

Thursday, April 22—First round, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 Hawaii time)

Friday, April 23—Second and third rounds, 6:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. HT)

Saturday, April 24—Rounds 4-7, 10 a.m. ET (4 a.m. HT)

The entire NFL Draft will be televised by NFL Network and ESPN.

Previously, the draft was held Saturday and Sunday. It will be held on primetime for the first time.

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NEW YORK — All-American defensive backs Eric Berry of Tennessee and Joe Haden of Florida were are a record-tying 53 non-seniors eligible for this year's NFL draft.

The list was released by the league Tuesday. It also includes All-American defensive end Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, tight end Aaron Hernandez of Florida, linebacker Rolando McClain of Alabama and wide receiver Golden Tate of Notre Dame.

Five Florida underclassmen are entered, the most of any college.

Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Southern California running back Joe McKnight and Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman also declared early for April's draft.

The 53 players match the previous high in 2008 but is a lower number than many projections. With the NFL and the players union in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement and the potential for a rookie wage scale being implemented, more juniors were expected to declare for this year's draft.

But it didn't really happen, even though the total is as high as it's ever been. Last year, 46 players declared early.

NFL draft consultant Gil Brandt, who helped build the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, often advises the non-seniors that staying in school suits them best.

"I tell a lot of them that it's short-term gain for long-term loss if you come out early," Brandt said. "I look at so many of these guys who stay and then wind up like Brian Cushing and Michael Oher, and look at the great rookie years they had."

Linebacker Cushing played four seasons at Southern Cal, then became Defensive Rookie of the Year with the Houston Texans. Oher, an offensive tackle at Ole Miss, became an instant starter with the Baltimore Ravens after spending the full four seasons in college.

"I had the father of a quarterback call me three times to ask about coming out," Brandt added. "I try to tell them the same thing, especially at that position: 'It's beneficial to get that extra year (in school).

"The agents are all whispering in their ears about labor (unrest) and the rookie wage scale. They've been telling them about a rookie wage scale since 1985. We haven't seen it yet."