State of the Game 2011 - When To Go Pro?

Fixing the scandals, Cam Newton, the Longhorn Network, and more. Along with the CFNers, check out the opinions on key topics going into the season from Matt Hayes from the Sporting News and the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein.

State of the Game 

When Should Players Turn Pro?

2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

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Question No.12. When should players be allowed to turn pro and how would you handle the draft/early entry process? 

E-mail Pete Fiutak

Players should be allowed to turn pro from the second they're born.

College football players get screwed in a lot of ways, but the worst hosing of hosings is the NFL's rule that a player must be three years removed from high school to be eligible for the big league, because that keeps players who really could earn a living playing football from doing what they want. People who have no business being in college, and have no desire to go to be college students, are being forced to go, forced to study things they don't want to, and forced to take unnecessary risks as part of a farm system for the pros. The NFL likes it because they get the colleges to act as the minor leagues, the colleges like it because players are forced to play college football, and the NFL scouts like it because they get a more refined prospect. It's still not fair.

Now, there is something to be said for a player going to college no matter what he thinks his chances are at the next level. Even the superstar high school prospects need seasoning, time in the weight room, and time on the field to show that they really can play at the next level. Terrelle Pryor might have been everyone's No. 1 recruit, but he doesn't have pro skills and he's being weeded out because of it. In reality, only a handful of true freshmen and sophomores would be drafted among the top 100 picks, and it would take a truly special high school prospect to be drafted at all, but if a kid wants to try to become an NFL player, he shouldn't have to go through the pretense of being a college student.

Also, don't assume players get developed properly in college. One of the first thing almost every NFL quarterback coach does is break down his new prospect's mechanics to build them back up again. Time and again, players change their habits and start working out differently, eating differently, and learning differently once they make the leap to the pros, and there should be a way for prospects to be allowed to prepare for the NFL without having to go to college. At the very least, like basketball players are able to do, football players should be allowed to enter the NFL draft and be allowed to to come back to school if they don't like how things shook out.

By Matt Hayes
Sporting News

System is perfect now.

By Teddy Greenstein
Chicago Tribune

The system works fine now – go to college, give the school three years. In hoops, it should be either go to the NBA out of high school or give your school a two-year minimum.

By Richard Cirminiello

The fan in me says four years, while the libertarian in me suggests there should be no barriers. Although mistakes would be made, who is the NCAA to prevent athletes from turning pro whenever they’d like? After enough freshmen and sophomores go undrafted, wiser heads would eventually prevail.

By Matt Zemek

After graduating from high school. Mandating one year is really rather empty and artificial as an intended solution to problems. Players shouldn’t be forced to attend universities in a manner the NCAA wants. Let players explore and test the marketplace if they feel they’re ready to go pro. If they test the waters and find that they’re not yet ready, they should be able to go back to their schools and major in football or basketball (see above).

By Barrett Sallee
Follow me on Twitter: @BarrettSallee

I like it the way it is – three years out of high school. Football is not like basketball or baseball or really any other sport. Very rarely do you see a player that is physically able to compete in the NFL at 18, whereas in the NBA, that’s really the prime of a player’s career. I’ve got no problem with the way it currently is set up, and the early entry process should be left alone.

2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

LIMITED TIME ONLY: CLICK HERE for a Free Week of Top-Rated Selections

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know
- Follow us ... http://twitter.com/ColFootballNews