On April 30, the lives of 256 college athletes will change forever # and then some.
The NFL draft can do that.
Players like Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Todd Gurley and Amari Cooper are projected to go in the first round and are expected to bring an immediate impact to the teams that select them.
But after the household names are off the board, teams are looking for hidden gems.
A USF player could be one of those late-draft picks, or could be signed to teams as an undrafted free agent, as teams generally sign 15-20 additional players following the draft.
The Bulls have 17 eligible players up for selection; it’s a list topped by wide receiver Andre Davis, kicker Marvin Kloss, tight end Mike McFarland, linebacker Reshard Cliett, defensive back Chris Dunkley, and defensive linemen Todd Chandler and Elkino Watson.
At 6-foot-1, Davis has shown he can handle the spotlight. He holds 13 school records, including the most receiving yards (2,136) and touchdowns (17) by a WR. Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and had a high jump of 32.5 inches at the USF pro day on March 26. He was given a draft grade of 4.94, according to NFL.com.
Compared to Cooper, who is the top-rated WR in the draft, Davis stands at the same height. Cooper, however, has a vertical jump of 34 inches and holds a 2015 draft grade of 7.13, the second-highest grade. He also ran the three-cone drill in 6.71 seconds, .35 seconds faster than Davis.
Davis is projected to be undrafted and is listed as a “priority free agent.”
He previously told The Crow’s Nest that he wouldn’t mind staying in Tampa with the Buccaneers.
Although kickers are rarely selected in the draft, Kloss has the potential to slip onto teams’ radars or at least make a roster spot during the offseason. After receiving the MVP award in the East-West Shrine Game, Kloss has positioned himself in a light that rarely shines on kickers. The 6-foot, 210-pound kicker was a Lou Groza finalist in 2013 after being responsible for 42 percent of the teams points that year.
Kloss led the team again in 2014 with 69 points, converting on 23-of-23 extra point kicks and 13-of-17 field goals. He held a 76.5 percent field goal percentage, ranking him second in his conference.
The former soccer player previously told The Crow’s Nest that his ideal situation would be to play for a team with a dome stadium to show his leg strength off in perfect conditions.
At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, TE Mike McFarland received the highest draft grade for a USF player by NFL scouts with a 5.0. On his pro day, McFarland had a 9.8 foot broad jump and ran a 4.73 40-yard dash. Out jumping his former teammate Davis, McFarland had a 35-inch vertical.
Although McFarland played with the Bulls the past three seasons, 2014 marked his first year as a full-time starter. He caught 27 passes for 315 yards, averaging 11.5 yards per catch.
Compared to Miami’s Clive Walford, one of the highly coveted TEs in the draft, McFarland stands just one inch taller and at the same weight. Walford received a slightly better draft grade of 5.51. McFarland and Walford also share the same vertical jump (35 inches). And Miami’s TE ran .006 slower on the 40-yard dash.
The grades may seem low on a scale of 1-10, but it is quite common to be around the 5.0 range. Florida State’s Winston, who is projected to be drafted No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, received a grade of 6.7, 0.5 higher than the next quarterback, Mariota.
