53 juniors head for the NFL, but Bulaga looks like one of the relatively few first-rounders

I'm at home, hiding from snow, freezing rain, ice and UPS trucks. This weather is a mish-mash, but this post has one topic and one topic only.

A record-tying 53 juniors have entered the NFL draft. Two are Iowa Hawkeyes, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga and cornerback Amari Spievey.

Only 32 players can go in the first round of the draft, and they won't all be juniors. Most won't, in fact. So my vague sense of mathematics tells me some of these guys aren't going to be sky-high draft picks.

Spievey is one of 14 junior defensive backs, for instance. But he has his reasons.

Four Georgia Tech players are entering the draft early. Which may have prompted the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Jeff Schultz from writing this piece suggesting too many juniors are making mistakes. Wrote Schultz:

It's not for me to tell a young man what to do with his life. But this could be one of the saddest NFL drafts ever - sad because of the number of players who believe coming out now puts them ahead of the curve when in fact this may drop them behind it.

Falcons defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder has coached in both college and the NFL. He said of so many juniors coming out:  “Obviously, whatever you think about it as a coach, a player, an agent or anybody involved, there are examples you can find to support your claim.” But he added, “Usually the college player is just starting to gain a comfort level with the college game. The game is starting to slow down. Then he leaves and he enters the NFL and he has to go through that same process all over again. The NFL game is faster. There's a lot more in terms of scheme, and the learning curve is difficult. If they don't have a great foundation, learning to function becomes more difficult.”

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel had a recent piece noting which teams were getting clobbered the most by juniors exiting early.

He called Ohio State one of the biggest winners because:

The Buckeyes suffered one big blow in losing defensive end Thaddeus Gibson, but defensive end Cameron Heyward, cornerback Chimidi Chekwa, linebacker Ross Homan and safety Jermale Hines all chose to return for their senior seasons, legitimizing Ohio State as a potential national championship contender.

Iowa was in Mandel's "Mixed Bag" category because:

The Hawkeyes lost two All-Big Ten juniors, tackle Bryan Bulaga and cornerback Amari Spievey. However, their biggest defensive standout, Orange Bowl MVP Adrian Clayborn, made the somewhat surprising decision to stay put, giving Kirk Ferentz's team eight returning starters from an already stout defense.

Penn State also was a "Mixed Bag" program. Mandel's analysis:

The good news -- leading rusher Evan Royster returns and could have a huge senior season running behind a more experienced offensive line. (The Nittany Lions will also be breaking in a new quarterback.) The bad news -- All-America linebacker Navorro Bowman turned pro, joining standout seniors Jared Odrick and Sean Lee.

In his "Welcome Back" category, he included:

Wisconsin running back John Clay: The Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year (1,517 yards, 18 TDs) was a third-year sophomore who put off NFL riches for at least a year.

Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones: The Spartans' All-Big Ten linebacker -- who ranked third nationally with 154 tackles in 13 games -- will be a Butkus Award favorite.

And in the "We Hardly Knew Ye" department:

Illinois receiver Arrelious Benn: A gifted playmaker, we never got to see his full potential. Benn netted a career-low 490 yards last season as Illinois' offense mysteriously imploded.

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg says the Big Ten wasn't hit particulary hard by early entries to the NFL. A few of his points:

The SEC had more than double that total (Unlike last year, when the Big Ten lost superstar juniors like Shonn Greene and Chris "Beanie" Wells to the NFL draft, the Jan. 15 deadline came and went without too much damage done.

Although several teams lost key players, a total of only six Big Ten juniors declared for the draft. 13).

There were few major surprises among the Big Ten's early entries. No one expected Arrelious Benn or Navorro Bowman to return, and Bryan Bulaga's Orange Bowl performance made him pretty much a lock to declare. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. now projects Bulaga to be the first Big Ten player taken in April's draft.

Here is the mighty Mel's latest "Big Board," by the way. He has Bulaga going 20th overall, which according to him, would indeed be the first Big Ten player selected.

The only other Big Tenner he has going in the top 25 picks is Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham (23rd) .

Kiper has four Oklahoma Sooners in the top 25. That's a lot for a Sun Bowl team. Of course, one is the quarterback (Sam Bradford) who missed almost the whole season to injury. It's kind of an important position.