Record Number of Underclassmen Declare for 2012 NFL Draft

The NFL announced today the college football players who had been granted "special eligibility" for the 2012 NFL Draft - also known as underclassmen taking part in the draft. The deadline for a player to declare for the draft was January 15 - with a record setting 65 players declaring.

For a player to receive "special eligibility," they must have been out of high school for three-years, and renounce, in writing, any remaining college football eligibility.

Headlining this year's underclassmen is Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck and Baylor Bears quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. The list also includes possible Miami Dolphins targets tackles Riley Reiff (Iowa) and Jonathan Martin (Stanford).

The full NFL press release, to include the list of all 65-players, is below.

65 PLAYERS GRANTED SPECIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR 2012 NFL DRAFT

The National Football League announced today the names of 65 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft on April 26-28 in New York.

Each of the 65 players has met the league's three-year eligibility rule and each has submitted a written application in which he renounced his remaining college football eligibility. The deadline for receiving applications was January 15.

The NFL Draft will kick off in primetime for the third consecutive year. The first round will be held on Thursday, April 26 at 8:00 PM ET. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, April 27 at 7:00 PM ET. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday, April 28 at noon ET.

The players granted special eligibility for the NFL Draft the past 10 years:

Year	Players Granted Special Eligibility		Year	Players Granted Special Eligibility
2012	65		2007	40
2011	56		2006	52
2010	53		2005	51
2009	46		2004	43
2008	53		2003	47

The players granted special eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft:

Player	Pos.	College
Alexander, Alvester	RB	Wyoming
Allen, Dwayne	TE	Clemson
Baker, Edwin	RB	Michigan State
Ball, Mike	RB	Nevada
Berryhill, Jamison	RB	Texas
Blackmon, Justin	WR	Oklahoma State
Brockers, Michael	DT	Louisiana State
Brown, Bryce	RB	Kansas State
Burfict, Vontaze	LB	Arizona State
Charles, Orson	TE	Georgia
Claiborne, Morris	DB	Louisiana State
Cox, Fletcher	DT	Mississippi State
DeCastro, David	G	Stanford
Eure, Tiree	TE	Minnesota
Forston, Marcus	DT	Miami
Gilmore, Stephon	DB	South Carolina
Givens, Chris	WR	Wake Forest
Graham, Dorian	WR	Syracuse
Griffin, Robert	QB	Baylor
Hampton, Jewel	RB	Southern Illinois
Harris, Cliff	DB	Oregon
Hightower, Dont'a	LB	Alabama
Hill, Stephen	WR	Georgia Tech
Hillman, Ronnie	RB	San Diego State
Holloway, Max	DE	Boston College
Hosley, Jayron	DB	Virginia Tech
Jackson, Janzen	DB	McNeese State
James, LaMichael	RB	Oregon
Jeffery, Alshon	WR	South Carolina
Johnson, Aldarius	WR	Miami
Johnson, Damaris	WR	Tulsa
Jones, Chandler	DE	Syracuse
Kalil, Matt	T	Southern California
Kirkpatrick, Dre	DB	Alabama
Konz, Peter	C	Wisconsin
Kuechly, Luke	LB	Boston College
Lewis, Ronnell	DE	Oklahoma
Luck, Andrew	QB	Stanford
Manning, Terrell	LB	North Carolina State
Martin, Jonathan	T	Stanford
Massie, Bobby	T	Mississippi
Mercilus, Whitney	DE	Illinois
Miller, Lamar	RB	Miami
Osweiler, Brock	QB	Arizona State
Page, Eric	WR	Toledo
Paige-Moss, Donte	DE	North Carolina
Perry, Nick	DE	Southern California
Pierce, Bernard	RB	Temple
Plue, Ken	G	Purdue
Poe, Dontari	DT	Memphis
Randle, Rueben	WR	Louisiana State
Reiff, Riley	T	Iowa
Richardson, Trent	RB	Alabama
Robinson, Josh	DB	Central Florida
Sanu, Mohamed	WR	Rutgers
Scott, Darrell	RB	South Florida
Streeter, Tommy	WR	Miami
Thomas, Darron	QB	Oregon
Thomas, Johnny	DB	Oklahoma State
Thomas, Phillip	DB	Syracuse
Trotter, Barrett	QB	Auburn
Vernon, Olivier	DE	Miami
Washington, Brandon	T	Miami
Wilson, David	RB	Virginia Tech
Worthy, Jerel	DT	Michigan State