Fox Sports is reporting former Ohio State Buckeye quarterback Terrell Pryor might not qualify for the NFL 2011 Supplemental Draft despite having announced plans to enter after leaving Ohio State in early June.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello emailed FOXSports.com on Sunday stating:
“If there are no players eligible for a supplemental draft, there is no supplemental draft,”
“It is for players whose circumstances have changed in an unforeseen way after the regular (college) draft. It is not a mechanism for simply bypassing the regular (draft).”
Aiello cited examples of “unforeseen” changes as players who were kicked off their college teams, declared academically ineligible or graduated and then decided to leave school. Pryor doesn’t qualify on any of those fronts.
Pryor’s status for the supplemental draft will be determined by Joel Bussert, the league’s vice president of player personnel/football operations. Aiello said such eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis.
The NFL has strict rules about supplemental draft eligibility because it doesn’t want players trying to skirt the regular draft in an attempt to manipulate where they might be picked. Quarterback Bernie Kosar did just that in 1985 to land with the Cleveland Browns instead of the Minnesota Vikings.
If the supplemental draft isn’t an option, Pryor could wait to enter the 2012 NFL draft or try to play in an alternate professional organization like the Canadian Football League. Pryor has signed with an agent and is ineligible to return to Ohio State.
I definitely hope Terrell Pryor can enter in the supplemental draft; but if he is unable to enter the NFL this season, I think working on his skills with a private coach and waiting for the 2012 NFL draft would be in his best interest.