Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley were among the most prominent college underclassmen to take a pass on this year's NFL draft. Both opted to hone their crafts for another year in school.
As it turns out, though, both were on the brink of making the jump to the NFL.
"There were some times when I could flip a coin and say whether I could stay or go," Hundley said, according to ESPN. "Honestly, it was a terrible decision, a hard one, personally. Some days I would wake up and I'd be like, 'All right, I'm out.' But if you count the days where I woke up and said, 'All right, I'm going to stay,' it was a little more than when I said I was gone."
Said Oregon coach Mark Helfrich on Ekpre-Olomu's decision: "If I would have been forced to lay my chips somewhere, (early entry is) probably where I would have. It was a pleasant surprise."
All things considered, both probably made the wise move.
Hundley, who said he watched the draft as a fan, witnessed quarterbacks projected to be chosen as early as the second round be picked much later. Pittsburgh's Tom Savage was chosen in the fourth round, Alabama's AJ McCarron went in Round 5, and LSU's Zach Mettenberger waited until the sixth. If Hundley's draft stock had fallen among that group, his lost NCAA eligibility would have also been seen as lost dollar bills.
Ekpre-Olomu, meanwhile, passed on a draft that was rife with first-round cornerbacks and it's possible his stock could have dipped, as well. Five cornerbacks were chosen in the first round of the draft, including two in the top 15: Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert (Browns, No. 8) and Virginia Tech's Kyle Fuller (Bears, No. 14).
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