Posted by Josh KatzowitzThe entire time we debated former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor and where he’d be selected in the supplemental draft, we didn’t actually talk about the chances of Pryor not being allowed to take part in it. But it’s been revealed that he might not get the chance to be drafted after all.
That’s according to Foxsports.com’s Alex Marvez, who writes that NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says that only a college player with “unforeseen” changes in his circumstance can participate.
For example, a player who was kicked off his team for violations or a player who was declared academically ineligible or a player who left the squad after graduating. He doesn’t say anything about a player, like Pryor, who leaves of his volition before graduation because of a scandal at his college program.
“It is for players whose circumstances have changed in an unforeseen way after the regular (college) draft,” Aiello wrote to Marvez in an e-mail. “It is not a mechanism for simply bypassing the regular (draft).”
Pryor could have declared himself for the April draft, but instead, at the time, he decided to accept a five-game suspension for 2011. He changed his mind after coach Jim Tressell was fired, but that doesn’t mean he can just place himself in the supplemental. It might simply be too late for him.
More from Marvez:
Pryor’s status for the supplemental draft will be determined by Joel Bussert, the league’s vice president of player personnel/football operations. Aiello said such eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis.
The NFL has strict rules about supplemental draft eligibility because it doesn’t want players trying to skirt the regular draft in an attempt to manipulate where they might be picked. Quarterback Bernie Kosar did just that in 1985 to land with the Cleveland Browns instead of the Minnesota Vikings.
If the supplemental draft isn’t an option, Pryor could wait to enter the 2012 NFL draft or try to play in an alternate professional organization like the Canadian Football League. Pryor has signed with an agent and is ineligible to return to Ohio State.
Earlier this month, Pryor said he didn’t care if he was taken in the first round or the seventh round of the supplemental draft. At this point, he should just be happy if he’s invited to participate at all.
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