Tom Pennington/Getty ImagesEzekiel Elliott may be ready for the NFL, but he will have to wait.Running back Ezekiel Elliott announced his presence with authority over the last month. In Ohio State's three-game run to the national championship, starting with the Big Ten championship game, he rushed for 696 yards and scored a total of eight touchdowns.
The impressive showing has many believing Elliott has a bright future in the NFL.
But while players like teammate Cardale Jones are weighing whether or not to enter the NFL draft, Elliott cannot. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be three years removed from high school — and Elliott is just a sophomore and cannot turn pro until the 2016 draft.
Whether or not Elliott would even want to skip his junior season is unknown. But the fact remains that as a running back, Elliott plays one of the most dangerous positions in a dangerous sport, and the shelf life for an NFL running back is very short.
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Florio compares Elliott's situation to that of former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, who was projected to be a first-round pick before he suffered a devastating knee injury. Lattimore recently retired having never played in an NFL game.
Elliott can protect himself with insurance, and recent changes to NCAA rules do allow Ohio State to cover the cost of the insurance. Lattimore stands to collect $1.7 million from his policy, in addition to a $300, 000 signing bonus he got after being drafted. However, that pales in comparison to the $8.3 million contract he was projected to sign before the injury, not to mention his unfulfilled dream of playing professional football.
Clearly the NFL draft rule, designed to protect players, hurts those that are risking the most.
It seems crazy, but for some players like Elliott, it may be better to just drop out and and there is something wrong with a system where the best thing for a player's career is to avoid playing for an entire year.
