NFL names underclassmen eligible for 2015 NFL Draft

The National Football League announced today the names of 74 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2015 NFL Draft, and 10 players who have graduated with college football eligibility remaining and are also eligible for selection, including several local stars such as USC's Leonard Williams and UCLA's Brett Hundley.

The first round of the 2015 NFL Draft will be held on Thursday, April 30.  The second and third rounds are set for Friday, May 1.  Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday, May 2.  The event will take place at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago.

In addition to Hundley and Williams, some of the other big names include the last two Heisman Trophy winners -- Marcus Mariota of Oregon and Jameis Winston of Florida State -- as well as star receiver Amari Cooper of Alabama.

The following 10 players have in timely fashion under NFL rules officially notified the league office that they have graduated.  Consequently, they are eligible for selection in the 2015 Draft:

Deion Barnes, DE Penn State
Sammie Coates, WR Auburn
Zach D’Orazio, WR Akron
Charles Gaines, DB Louisville
Dee Hart, RB Colorado State
Brett Hundley, QB UCLA
Nigel King, WR Kansas
Marcus Mariota, QB Oregon
Donovan Smith, T Penn State
Tacoi Sumler, WR Appalachian State

Each of the 74 players granted special eligibility has met the league’s three-year eligibility rule and each has submitted a written application in which he renounced his remaining college football eligibility.  The deadline for receiving applications was January 15.

The 74 players granted special eligibility is a 24.5 percent decrease from the 2014 total of 98 and represents the first time the number has dropped from the preceding year since 2009.

The players granted special eligibility for the 2015 NFL Draft:

Nelson Agholor, WR Southern California
Jay Ajayi, RB Boise State
Kwon Alexander, LB Louisiana State
Javorius Allen, RB Southern California
Arik Armstead, DE Oregon
Malcom Brown, DT Texas
Alex Carter, DB Stanford
B.J. Catalon, RB Texas Christian
Tevin Coleman, RB Indiana
Jalen Collins, DB Louisiana State
Landon Collins, DB Alabama
Amari Cooper, WR Alabama
Xavier Cooper, DT Washington State
Christian Covington, DT Rice
DaVaris Daniels, WR Notre Dame
Ronald Darby, DB Florida State
Mike Davis, RB South Carolina
Stefon Diggs, WR Maryland
Lorenzo Doss, DB Tulane
Mario Edwards, DE Florida State
Durell Eskridge, DB Syracuse
George Farmer, WR Southern California
Max Flores, LB Northern Colorado
Ereck Flowers, T Miami
Dante Fowler, DE Florida
Devin Funchess, WR Michigan
Jacoby Glenn, DB Central Florida
Eddie Goldman, DT Florida State
Melvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin
Dorial Green-Beckham, WR Missouri
Deontay Greenberry, WR Houston
Randy Gregory, DE Nebraska
Todd Gurley, RB Georgia
Chris Hackett, DB Texas Christian
Eli Harold, DE Virginia
Chris Harper, WR California
Braylon Heard, RB Kentucky
Gerod Holliman, DB Louisville
D.J. Humphries, T Florida
Danielle Hunter, DE Louisiana State
David Irving, DT Iowa State
Jesse James, TE Penn State
Duke Johnson, RB Miami
Matt Jones, RB Florida
Tyler Kroft, TE Rutgers
Ellis McCarthy, DT UCLA
Benardrick McKinney, LB Mississippi State
Patrick Miller, T Auburn
Tyler Moore, G Florida
Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DT Southern Mississippi
Andrus Peat, T Stanford
Breshad Perriman, WR Central Florida
Marcus Peters, DB Washington
Jordan Phillips, DT Oklahoma
Darius Philon, DT Arkansas
Bradley Pinion, P Clemson
Jaquel Pitts, WR Trinity International
Jeremiah Poutasi, T Utah
Darien Rankin, LB North Carolina
Shane Ray, DE Missouri
Josh Robinson, RB Mississippi State
James Sample, DB Louisville
Jean Sifrin, TE Massachusetts
Jaelen Strong, WR Arizona State
Shaq Thompson, LB Washington
Max Valles, LB Virginia
Easton Wahlstrom, LS Arizona State
Trae Waynes, DB Michigan State
Leonard Williams, DE Southern California
Maxx Williams, TE Minnesota
P.J. Williams, DB Florida State
Trey Williams, RB Texas A&M
Jameis Winston, QB Florida State
T.J. Yeldon, RB Alabama


By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services