Potential top NFL draft pick Jake Locker is staying put in Washington.
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The sports fans in Seattle have been through a lot this decade. They have seen the Seattle Mariners set a major league record for most wins in a season only to be bumped from the playoffs earlier than they would have liked.
The Seattle Seahawks came up a little short against the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
The Seattle Sonics left town in favor of Oklahoma City.
But cheer up sports fans in the upper northwest portion of the country. Cliff Lee appears to be heading to your baseball team in a blockbuster trade, just days after the team signed a top free agent to play third base in Chone Figgins from the rival Angels.
Now comes the news that one of the top quarterbacks in the PAC 10, if not the nation, is coming back for another season. In a move that could mean a much smaller payoff in 2011, Washington quarterback Jake Locker has stated he will return to the Huskies in 2010.
"After a great deal of careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to return to Washington and play my senior year," Locker said in a statement. "I am very excited about this team's opportunities and potential for the upcoming season and I am looking forward to being a part of it."
With the uncertain future of the collective bargaining agreement in the NFL and the likely institution of rookie salary pay grades it is expected that many juniors in the college game will bolt for the NFL for the 2010 draft in order to avoid being restrained by the expected restrictions in 2011. This may be way players like Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate have made the decision to go pro now.
But Locker staying put in Washington is refreshing in this day and age. But is it the right decision? Locker is generally considered to be a top draft pick by many mock draft experts if he left right now. Todd McShay of ESPN had Locker ranked number one in his mock draft board. Returning to play another season seems like it will only harm Locker's draft stock.
Take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford as your text book example.
Bradford won the Heisman Trophy in the 2008 season and guided his Sooners to the BCS championship game (let us leave the discussion of the Big XII BCS controversy of 2008 for another time). Bradford was on top of the world when it came to junior quarterbacks. Had Bradford declared for the NFL draft he more than likely would have been a first round pick, possibly even going in the top ten. But he made the decision to return to Oklahoma for his seniors season.
Hind sight may be 20/20 but Bradford's 2009 season should be a lesson for what can happen to Locker.
Bradford suffered a shoulder injury in the opening game of the 2009 season against BYU as the third ranked Sooners went down in defeat, practically eliminating them from the national championship race on day one. But things only got worse for Bradford and the Sooners. Bradford missed some playing time with the injury and when he finally did come back it was a short time before he was injured again. Bradford missed the rest of the season as the Sooners struggled through the season. Instead of a typical BCS appearance Oklahoma is now preparing to take on Stanford in the Sun Bowl with Bradford on the sideline. As a result Bradford's draft stock has plummeted. Some scouting services will rank Bradford in the top three among quarterbacks but overall he has fallen out of the top ten and in some services out of the top 20.
Only time will tell if Locker will suffer a similar fate as Bradford. What do you think? Is Locker making the right decision or should he change his mind and declare for the NFL draft in 2010?
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