Which former Texas football players would have benefited the most from at least one more year playing on the Forty Acres?
There were no early entrants into the 2020 NFL Draft out of the Texas football program, which didn’t come as a huge surprise. But Texas did have a lot of early entrants in the previous two editions of the NFL Draft that might’ve come too early. Texas didn’t produce much first round caliber talent in the last decade, under three different coaching regimes, so early entrants into the draft were going to be followed with greater risk.
A huge difference exists when there’s an early entrant that fits the profile of Clemson Tigers superstar rising junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, or Ohio State Buckeyes rising redshirt sophomore Justin Fields, compared to someone like Sam Ehlinger (if he had declared early for this year’s draft). Lawrence and Fields could be sure fire top five picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, so it would make a lot of sense for them to leave school a year or two early to take their talents to the next level.
A common theme used to be on the Forty Acres that players would mostly stick around for all of their years of remaining eligibility. But sticking around used to come with a real shot at winning a Big 12 Championship and likely at least contending in the national title picture. That trend all changed within the last decade. Hence players had more motivation to go ahead and get their money at the next level instead of sticking out another six or eight win season.
In recent years, there are still some early entrants into the NFL Draft that should’ve at least waited on more season before taking their talents to the next level. Here’s a look into three of those former players out of the Texas Longhorns football program.