A closer look at the NFL draft advisory board

Kirk Ferentz won't like this -- or, knowing a little how he does things, maybe he's cool with it -- but the early NFL decisions are here to stay for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

And it's probably a good thing. In the long run, of course.

The early NFL decisions have been a headline with the Hawkeyes now going on a month and half. Wide receiver Marvin McNutt started hearing the question in early November. Same for safety Tyler Sash. Cornerback Shaun Prater submitted his name to the NFL draft advisory board. Offensive tackle Riley Reiff did not.

McNutt said this for a Nov. 3 post: “I'm pretty sure I'm going to be here next year. Pretty sure. Right now, my decision is to be in school.”

He said he's started to hear NFL talk from folks around him.

“It's like the [Wisconsin] loss,” he said. “You try to tell people, let's move on because it's something that's not in front of me.”

Ferentz doesn't like his players fielding this question, during a game week and maybe ever. But it's a fact of life for Iowa. (And really, it's only a question that a player can simply shrug off and not spend a lot of time or thought with. Hardly a huge "distraction.")

In 2002, tight end Dallas Clark made the leap. Running back Shonn Greene left a year on the table after 2008. Last season, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga and defensive back Amari Spievey made the leap.

You could argue that they were the first "true" juniors to leave Iowa early. Clark and Greene were age 24 or close to it going into the draft. Bulaga was a "true" third-year player, and Spievey was a fourth-year junior.

And now this year, there's McNutt and Sash, who'll be 23 in May. Prater announced Tuesday that he plans to return for his senior year at Iowa.

Next year, Reiff will get the question. He was cordial when asked this year, but it will get old fast for him (can't blame him there).

If you're any junior -- for Iowa or any major-college football school -- why not submit your name to the draft advisory board? If you're quarterback James Vandenberg and you have a big junior season, why not take a look at what NFL scouts think of your ability?

Doesn't cost anything. (Well, postage maybe and there might be some sort of fee.)

The six-man board comprises general managers, personnel directors and scouts from a number of NFL teams . The panel issues an advisory opinion that a player has potential to be picked in the first, second, third, after the third round and/or in no round at all.

Obviously, the differences are money. It basically puts a potential price tag on what it's worth to make the jump.

“It's become a fairly common practice for any junior who's played at all,” Ferentz said. “It's a resource the NFL has made available to players. I think it's wonderful. It's better them to get information from people who do this for a living as opposed to people who might be advising or offering advice who really have no idea.”

There is curiosity and there are real choices. And with every choice, there is a set of consequences, as in you might not get picked.

Of the 53 underclassmen who declared for the 2010 draft, seven went undrafted. Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead was the most noteworthy. He went in the seventh round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was cut and is now with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

Here is an excellent piece by ESPN's Len Pasquarelli on the advisory board. Basically, there are no guarantees. (I highly recommend reading this.)

According to the league, the advisory board does offer an "informed, realistic assessment of a player's draft potential." But the NFL cautions that the committee's evaluation "is only an opinion, and is not to be considered binding in any way, or a guarantee that a player will be drafted in a certain round, or at all."

No guarantees.

We think we know what goes into this decision, but we really have no idea.