Each year, plenty of college football players train for years to be able to get TO the National Football League (NFL), and they also have to train even harder to be able to sustain success once they get there. About 300 players get invited every year to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis around February and March. Of those 300 players, a chunk of them are underclassmen (juniors or seniors by academic standing), but are red-shirt sophomores (third-year sophomore), true juniors (third-year), and red-shirt juniors (fourth-year junior) by athletic eligibility.

With the new advisory rules, fewer players are coming out early to go through the pre-draft process, but for those who do, some of them come out when they're not really ready for the NFL, and even though they test poorly or they won't have a guarantee of being drafted, aren't able to go back to school for another season of college ball since they've given up their eligibility by leaving early for the draft. Players had until January 15 to decide whether or not they participate, but if they do decide to participate in the process, they can back out before that deadline passes.

A step which colleges have already adhered to is to limit the number of advisory decisions from NFL scouts on whether or not to stay in school. The scouts give a draft-grade as 'First Round', 'Second Round', or 'Come back to school' for underclassmen. That's a good step to make sure that athletes don't make ill-advised decisions about leaving school early. But there's more that can be amended to the NFL pre-draft scouting process.

1. Give underclassmen an opportunity after the NFL combine to re-evaluate their decision to enter the draft.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) already does this where players can declare for the draft as underclassmen (the NBA allows players to declare after being out of high school for one year rather than three for the NFL), but decide whether or not to remain in the draft after they've participated in the scouting combine. Some players don't do their best on testing day and their numbers don't reflect on their true capabilities, so instead of banking on stock that's falling, they should do what they can to keep it as high as possible.

2. Have early-declaring players wait to sign with an agent / agents until after the combine has completed.

Each player who declares early for the draft currently waives eligibility by choosing to leave, but if they sign with an agent when declaring for the draft, they can no longer change their mind about coming back if the deadline hasn't yet passed. By allowing players to re-evaluate their decision after the NFL combine is complete, they can also wait to decide whether or not to sign with an agent until then. That way they're able to evaluate their decision again once they've gone through testing and learn information that they wouldn't have under the current rules.

3. Allow early-declaring players to have a game to participate in for evaluation and preparation purposes.

In the pre-draft process, seniors have opportunities to participate in the Senior Bowl or the Shrine Game, which are both played in January, about a month before the NFL combine. However, there isn't one for the juniors and red-shirt sophomores (and even some red-shirt juniors). It's unfair to them since there's one less sample of film to evaluate them on. (Obviously if they've proven themselves well-enough it's a different scenario, but on behalf of those who aren't entirely ready, they need a way to be able to have live-action preparation instead of preparing with just a personal trainer and/or nutrition coach.)

Under the current system, players like Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, and Saquon Barkley cannot participate in a post-season game such as the Senior Bowl since they aren't seniors by academics. These players are an exception since they're the top 3 prospects in the draft, but for other guys who have declared early, such as Oklahoma's Mark Andrews, or Southern California's Ronald Jones, and even Louisville's Lamar Jackson, who aren't necessarily 'locks' to go in the first or second rounds, they could use another live-action setting to prepare themselves.

4. Set-up an early testing period for players so they can assess what they need to work on most in their preparation.

One thing to know is that not every player is invited to the NFL Combine, so their pro day, which comes after the NFL combine, is their only chance to really put up video evidence and results for future teams to evaluate and look at. With that being said, players who aren't invited to the NFL combine, especially those who declare early, can use an early-evaluation period to test their 40-yard dash, bench press reps at 225 pounds, three-cone-drill, 20-yard shuttle, and any positional drills, so they're just as well-prepared for the NFL combine as those are invited. (On another note, College Football has an early-signing period for recruits to sign letters of intent, so it's possible to have an early-evaluation process for those who want to enter the draft too).

5. Permit un-drafted early-declaring players to return to their college team after the draft if they choose.

Since there's about four months between the first game of the season and the NFL draft, there's plenty of time for an early-declaring player to return to school and get ready for another season of college ball if they feel that's their best choice under this scenario. The NCAA allows this with respect to major league baseball, but it's unfair to a college player who doesn't get drafted that he doesn't get to continue playing at his school so he can give it another go either the following year or whenever he comes out to the draft. Early-declaring players should have the choice after the draft, if they end up going un-drafted, either to try to qualify for a team through their training camp, or to return to school. They have much to learn and should not be left out to dry if their pursuit at this cycle comes up short by going un-drafted.

These five measures are quite useful for maximizing the opportunities for players who aren't the most fortunate when it comes to making it to the NFL. Not every player has the opportunity to perform in front of scouts at the NFL Combine, and even the school's pro day isn't going to have all of the scouts present. Not every player has the same body of work leading up to the draft, whether it's talent, game experience, or times and numbers, so these five measures can help level the playing field from a preparation standpoint.

It also allows players the opportunity to re-evaluate their decision, and it's something that future NFL players only have a few weeks to decide on, rather than three months. For players who declare early, the reason is that they're physically talented enough and ready to go to the NFL, but they can still be raw in some facets of their game. There have been players who have been busts who came out early, such as Blaine Gabbert or Ki-Jana Carter. With that being said, having the opportunity to perform in front of scouts will be crucial, so if they can learn something from that, especially regarding whether or not to stay in the draft, it will bode well for them in the long run.