Nick Saban: NFL “Very Much Interested” In Underclassmen Combine

Alabama HC Nick Saban told reporters on Wednesday at SEC Media Days that the NFL is “very much interested” in an underclassmen combine.

“I think the NFL is very much interested in this,” Saban said, via NFL.com. “We have a meeting scheduled in the near future to discuss some ways to implement this.”

“I think people are listening. I think there was a lot of support among our conference coaches when we discussed it at the spring meetings in Destin,” Saban added.

Just last week, Ohio State HC Urban Meyer said that he favored combine-style workout for underclassmen prior to the deadline for them to apply for early draft eligibility.

“We’re going to try to get something where there’s a time those [scouts] can actually come in and they can work out the juniors,” Meyer said, via Pro Football Talk. “Because information is good. [The players] are getting their information somewhere, so why not get it from the experts — the scouts, the general managers, people who have the right information? They’re getting it from agents and they’re getting it from wannabes, and that’s not good information.”

There appears to be a lot of support from influential people for this idea. Allowing underclassmen to gauge the likelihood of being drafted before finalizing a decision seems like a win-win and would reduce the number of underclassmen who go undrafted.

The NBA allows underclassmen to participate in the combine and return to school if the feedback they get suggests they could go undrafted, so it’s not a radical idea or anything.

We’ll have more regarding this idea as the news is available.