Former Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, dismissed from the program last month, is reportedly considering sitting out the 2014 college football season entirely, with an eye toward entering the 2015 NFL Draft.
For a player with more years of college eligibility remaining (two) than productive years as a college player (one), it would be the riskiest of moves. A rash of legal problems have derailed the career of Green-Beckham, who was regarded as the nation's No. 1 wide receiver recruit out of high school in 2012. Two marijuana-related arrests preceded an incident in which Green-Beckham allegedly forced his way into his girlfriend's apartment and pushed another female resident down a stairwell. He was dismissed from the Missouri program on April 11.
Green-Beckham would be three years removed from high school by next spring, and thus draft-eligible.
Sources at Eastern Illinois, where Green-Beckham was reportedly considering a transfer, told cbssports.com that the wide receiver would more likely sit out the year. NCAA transfer rules would require Green-Beckham to sit out the season if he transferred to another FBS program, but at an FCS school like Eastern Illinois, he could be eligible immediately.
The report notes that Green-Beckham's path would be similar to that of former LSU star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, although it might not be nearly as wise. Mathieu was dismissed from LSU's program after the 2011 season and sat out in 2012. He was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft by the Arizona Cardinals, and was among the NFL's top rookies last year.
Where draft evaluations are concerned, however, Green-Beckham's case isn't as clear-cut as Mathieu's.
For one, Mathieu's only issues were related to drug use, and he underwent four weeks of rehab under John Lucas before re-enrolling as a student at LSU. Questions about Green-Beckham are not only drug-related but now include violence, as well, and it's safe to say the 6-foot-6, 225-pound star won't be re-enrolling at Missouri. Even from a football standpoint, Mathieu had a far stronger body of work at the college level, having starred for two full seasons at LSU in 2010 and 2011. Green-Beckham's freshman year in 2012 was short on production, although he was among the SEC's top receivers last year with 883 receiving yards.
If Green-Beckham enrolls at an FCS program, he could play as many as two more seasons before entering the draft.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
