OU's Millard considering the NFL, and for good reason
Published: 12/31/2012 10:56 AM
Last Modified: 12/31/2012 10:56 AM
IRVING, Texas – Of the four Oklahoma underclassmen considering an early departure for the NFL, Trey Millard might be most likely to leave. Not because he is sick of school or needs the money or any other traditional reason players jump.
It's his position. Playing fullback, as Millard said Monday morning here in Irving, "you can't really move up as far as the first round."
When Bob Stoops makes his annual pitch to underclassmen, about maximizing your draft stock so you don't sell yourself short and put your pro career at risk before it ever begins, he's talking to quarterbacks, tailbacks, receivers and linemen. He's talking to linebackers, safeties and corners. Guys competing to get noticed, and drafted, at positions of great need.
As much as OU has tried to feature Millard – he reached career highs with 29 carries, 29 catches, 501 yards and 4 touchdowns this season – he's still a fullback. About the only way he breaks out of that mold is to cut in on Damien Williams' or Brennan Clay's carries next season. Or convince coaches they really do have an every-down tight end on their roster, and it's him.
Short of that, scouts and personnel directors and GMs are going to see him in the same light a year from now as they do currently. Which is?
"Not in the top three rounds," said Millard, who received that assessment from the NFL draft advisory committee recently.
So without the lure of millions, he's left to consider his shelf life as a football player. Millard puts his 256-pound body through as much punishment as any on the Sooners' roster. He'll be asked to do so in the pros, regardless of how he is used.
"Their careers are definitely cut a little shorter than the rest of ours," OU wide receiver Kenny Stills said of the fullback position as it relates to Millard's decision. "So he's got a lot of stuff to consider."
There are pros and cons here. I asked Millard for reasons to return.
"A degree. Going through my senior year with a class and a group of guys I came in with. Try to win a national championship. Win another Big 12 championship. Be one of the few classes to beat Texas four years in a row. Go up and play Notre Dame," he answered. "Those are all reasons to stay."
Millard also talked about how cool it would be to play with close friend Blake Bell in Bell's first year as starting quarterback. He'll no doubt weigh that along with other pros and cons, and, like teammates Stills, Tony Jefferson and Aaron Colvin, make his decision in the days following the Cotton Bowl.
If any of the four has a case for turning pro, Millard's seems to be the soundest.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
