Something to consider about drafting players from Ohio State...

is that because tOSU is on a quarter system and their seniors graduate later than most schools, any player we draft from Ohio State--whether it's Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis or, even, Vernon Gholston--would not be able to join the team until after tOSU hosts its graduation. Let us not forget just last year how behind Antonio Pittman was when he first came to the team. I like Jenkins and Laurinaitis both and think they are tremendous players but I also know that it will be important to have a guy that can be a part of all the minicamps and practice sessions in early June. This does not mean that we should not draft one of those guys but it is something that we will have to consider and make sure we are prepared to deal with in terms of getting a guy up to speed before the start of preseason.

Personally, I think the rule by the NFL is stupid. Players should not be penalized from joining a team simply because their school is on a quarter system rather than a semester system. It's not like the NFL is upholding some academic virtue by not allowing these players to join. The moment you permit underclassmen to enter the NFL--unless they have graduated in three years--you are advocating them taking a leave of absence from school to pursue dreams of playing in the NFL. So why make them wait as if you are promoting academics? It's crazy and it hurts those teams that draft players from teams such as Ohio State and Oregon State.