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2017 NFL Draft: Clemson, Ohio State football stars lead underclassmen going pro

By Dane Brugler, The Sports Xchange
The list of underclassmen declaring for the 2017 NFL Draft includes quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Clemson Tigers. Watson celebrates with the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tampa Florida on January 9, 2017. Photo by Mark Wallheiser/UPI
1 of 3 | The list of underclassmen declaring for the 2017 NFL Draft includes quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Clemson Tigers. Watson celebrates with the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tampa Florida on January 9, 2017. Photo by Mark Wallheiser/UPI | License Photo

The NFL announced the names of 103 total underclassmen who have been granted eligibility for the 2017 NFL Draft, which is scheduled for April 27-29 in Philadelphia, Pa.

On the official list, 95 were granted special eligibility while eight others already graduated, but had eligibility remaining. The deadline for underclassmen to declare was January 16.

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The 103 early entrants is the second-highest number, falling just short of last year's 107 underclassmen. The 95 who were granted special eligibility is third highest all-time behind 98 in 2014 and 96 in 2016.

On the NFLDraftScout.com top-50 Brugler Board, 32 are underclassmen, including 11 of the top 13 prospects led by Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett at No. 1 overall.

Historically, the first round is dominated by underclassmen.

Based on current projections by NFLDraftScout.com, the list of early declarations includes several players who will be drafted late rounds or not at all. Last year 28-percent of underclassmen who declared early went undrafted, which is an improvement from the 2014 class when 39.2-percent of underclassmen didn't hear their name called on draft weekend.

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Underclassmen who already graduated:

1 Alex Anzalone LB Florida

2 Gareon Conley DB Ohio State

3 Wayne Gallman RB Clemson

4 Bucky Hodges TE Virginia Tech

5 Artavis Scott WR Clemson

6 Khari Waithe-Alexander DE Southern Illinois

7 Deshaun Watson QB Clemson

8 Mike Williams WR Clemson

Underclassmen granted special eligibility:

1 Jamal Adams DB Louisiana State

2 Budda Baker DB Washington

3 Derek Barnett DE Tennessee

4 Garett Bolles T Utah

5 Caleb Brantley DT Florida

6 Noah Brown WR Ohio State

7 KD Cannon WR Baylor

8 Devin Childress WR North Park

9 Michael Clark WR Marshall

10 James Conner RB Pittsburgh

11 Dalvin Cook RB Florida State

12 Zach Cunningham LB Vanderbilt

13 Malachi Dupre WR Louisiana State

14 Jerod Evans QB Virginia Tech

15 Jeremy Faulk DT Garden City CC

16 Tarean Folston RB Notre Dame

17 Isaiah Ford WR Virginia Tech

18 D'Onta Foreman RB Texas

19 Leonard Fournette RB Louisiana State

20 Myles Garrett DE Texas A&M

21 Shelton Gibson WR West Virginia

22 Davon Godchaux DT Louisiana State

23 Chris Godwin WR Penn State

24 Isaiah Golden DT McNeese State

25 Jermaine Grace LB Miami

26 Derrick Griffin WR Texas Southern

27 Chad Hansen WR California

28 Charles Harris DE Missouri

29 Carlos Henderson WR Louisiana Tech

30 Brian Hill RB Wyoming

31 Elijah Hood RB North Carolina

32 Malik Hooker DB Ohio State

33 Titus Howard DB Slippery Rock

34 Marlon Humphrey DB Alabama

35 Adoree'Jackson DB Southern California

36 Roderick Johnson T Florida State

37 Aaron Jones RB Texas-El Paso

38 Josh Jones DB North Carolina State

39 Nazair Jones DT North Carolina

40 Sidney Jones DB Washington

41 Brad Kaaya QB Miami

42 Alvin Kamara RB Tennessee

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43 Tim Kimbrough LB Georgia

44 DeShone Kizer QB Notre Dame

45 Jerome Lane WR Akron

46 Marshon Lattimore DB Ohio State

47 Carl Lawson DE Auburn

48 Elijah Lee LB Kansas State

49 Keevan Lucas WR Tulsa

50 Marlon Mack RB South Florida

51 Patrick Mahomes QB Texas Tech

52 Josh Malone WR Tennessee

53 Damien Mama G Southern California

54 Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford

55 Malik McDowell DT Michigan State

56 Isaiah McKenzie WR Georgia

57 Deon-Tay McManus WR Marshall

58 Raekwon McMillan LB Ohio State

59 Jeremy McNichols RB Boise State

60 Joe Mixon RB Oklahoma

61 Al-Quadin Muhammad DE Miami

62 Montae Nicholson DB Michigan State

63 David Njoku TE Miami

64 Speedy Noil WR Texas A&M

65 Marcus Oliver LB Indiana

66 Aaron Peak DB Butler County CC

67 Jabrill Peppers LB Michigan

68 Samaje Perine RB Oklahoma

69 Elijah Qualls DT Washington

70 Devine Redding RB Indiana

71 Cam Robinson T Alabama

72 John Ross WR Washington

73 Travis Rudolph WR Florida State

74 Curtis Samuel WR Ohio State

75 Ricky Seals-Jones WR Texas A&M

76 Adam Shaheen TE Ashland

77 David Sharpe T Florida

78 Garrett Sickels DE Penn State

79 JuJu Smith-Schuster WR Southern California

80 ArDarius Stewart WR Alabama

81 Damore'ea Stringfellow WR Mississippi

82 Teez Tabor DB Florida

83 Vincent Taylor DT Oklahoma State

84 Solomon Thomas DT Stanford

85 Mitch Trubisky QB North Carolina

86 Darius Victor RB Towson

87 Anthony Walker LB Northwestern

88 Charles Walker DT Oklahoma

89 T.J.Watt LB Wisconsin

90 Marcus Williams DB Utah

91 Stanley Williams RB Kentucky

92 Howard Wilson DB Houston

93 Quincy Wilson DB Florida

94 Joseph Yearby RB Miami

95 Ishmael Zamora WR Baylor

--Dane Brugler is senior analyst of NFLDraftScout.com, published and operated by The Sports Xchange in cooperation with CBSSports.com.

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