Early Risers

[crizpynutz]

Early risers aren't all the wiser

Although it was clear underclassmen such as Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers and Miami wide receiver Andre Johnson were ready for the draft, many of the 46 other players who declared early operated in more of a gray area. Of that group, here are three who jumped too soon and three who didn't:

Should have stayed in school

LaBrandon Toefield, RB, LSU. Toefield's decision doesn't make much sense. He tore his ACL in the 2001 SEC championship game, then broke a bone in his arm last year and played in only nine of 13 games. He should have returned to Baton Rouge, where he would have been the full-time starter, and proved his durability.

Chris Clemons, LB, Georgia. Clemons was not a full-time starter before last season, and then he missed one game because of injury and didn't start two others. He finished as the Bulldogs' ninth-leading tackler. Clemons has the physical tools to make it in the NFL, but he needed more time to develop those tools.

Ian Scott, DT, Florida. He missed significant time at Florida because of two knee injuries, and he took a step backward in 2002. Scott could get drafted as high as the second round, but if he had returned to school and played like he did as a sophomore, he could have been a first-rounder in 2004.

Smart moves

Musa Smith, RB, Georgia. He could have improved his all-around skills with another season in college, but his value never would have been as high. Georgia's top six offensive linemen will not be back, so Smith's production undoubtedly would have declined.

Willis McGahee, RB, Miami. Instead of returning to school and risking the possibility of splitting carries with Frank Gore, McGahee put the pressure on the NFL. His rehab from a severe knee injury is going smoothly, and it wouldn't be a shock if a team took a chance on him at the end of the first round.

Terry Pierce, ILB, Kansas State. He is coming off a season in which he had 110 tackles, including 16 for loss, and five sacks. It would have been hard for him to improve on that. Pierce also did his homework. The linebackers class this year is as poor as it has been in the past five years, which increases Pierce's value.