John Calipari may be a shameless self-promoter with a persecution complex, but no one can ever accuse the man of not wanting the best for his players.
Calipari's praise of the new NBA rule -- allowing players up to 10 days after the May combine to decide whether or not to stay in for the June draft, provided they don't sign with an agent -- shows how ludicrously backward the NFL draft process continues to be.
The early-entry deadline is in mid-January, weeks ahead of the February combine and months ahead of the late April/early May draft.
Why can't the deadline be pushed back to right around now?
Players and teams would have two months to feel each other out, and that would still leave a month-plus for teams to sort out their draft boards after players pull their names out.
Lest we forget, a record 107 underclassmen declared for the 2016 draft, and 24 of the 84 early entrants went undrafted in 2015. An adoption of the NBA rule would allow college football players a chance to receive real feedback from real NFL talent evaluators, instead of from those who fill prospects' heads with information that may not be in their own best interest.