Indiana coach Kevin Wilson has begun campaigning for star tailback Tevin Coleman to return for his senior season, saying on his Wednesday night radio show that "I think if you're not a first-round pick, you should come back."
One interesting aspect with this: Wilson is not assured of returning himself. Indiana is 3-7 this season, which makes Wilson -- who is in his fourth season at the school -- 13-33 with the Hoosiers.
Coleman (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) is second in the nation in rushing and one of the most explosive players in the country. Wilson spoke about underclassmen potentially turning pro Wednesday night.
"When the season ends, there's a time to do things," Wilson said on his radio show, as per insideindiana.com. "However, runners and agents and people are (sending) information to the family all the time. What we're trying to do with our kids is the trust of, 'Listen, all we want is what's best for you. We're going to make nothing off of you. We're actually going to give you money to stay here, give you a scholarship.' "
He also said that a player staying in school for his senior season "can come back for a year and earn a first-round spot and get the eight or nine million guaranteed money."
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks wrote earlier this week that Coleman has "the stuff needed to be a feature back at the next level." He also said Coleman has "spectacular skills" and that he "continues to generate a ton of buzz in NFL circles."
Running backs have been relatively devalued in the past two drafts, with none going in the first round. It will be interesting to see what happens at the position in the 2015 draft. Georgia junior Todd Gurley suffered a torn ACL in last week's win over Auburn, putting his immediate future somewhat in doubt. Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, who leads the nation in rushing, also is a junior who will have to make a decision on whether to turn pro or remain in school.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
