Cierre Wood and the NFL

Is Cierre Wood after graduation moving onto the NFL?  He has a much publicized year of eligibility remaining with the Irish.  His mother indicated he was leaning 70-30 in declaring for the draft.  We saw that he has a beautiful 14 month old daughter at Senior Day.  Is he planning on embarking on the next phase of his life and career?

He has to make up his mind soon if he wants to be chosen for any of the post season Senior and All-Star games.  He’ll need an agent’s advice and draft analyst from experts as to his possible draft ranking.  He and Brian Kelly need to sit down (if they haven’t already) and determine if he will be invited back for a fifth year.  His status with the coaching staff is up in the air ever since his suspension at the beginning of the 2012 campaign. 

He needs an invite to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis early next year.

 

The odds are not in his favor in making it in the NFL.  The odds are not very good he will get drafted either.  It appears his best chance will be for getting picked up as an undrafted free agent and given a tryout.  

Remember NFL stands for Not For Long.

If you make the roster the average career length is 6.0 years.  If not, it is 3.2 years of banging around the league trying to make taxi rosters and team reserves.  The average for the position that gets beat up the most…. running back, it’s a dismal 2.57 years.  The lowest of all positions.

Lou Holtz left after 1996, so we conducted an informal research of Notre Dame running backs that left or graduated from 1997-2011.  

James Aldridge             Never Got A Chance

Armando Allen             Jury Still Out

Autry Denson               Holds career rushing yards at ND.  Dismal with the Buccaneers

Tony Fisher                   Bust

Ryan Grant                   Eventually Found A Home With the Packers And Made Big $$

Jonas Gray                    Signed As A Undrafted Free Agent and put on IR

Robert Hughes              Jury Still Out

Julius Jones                   Bounced Around For A Few Years

Rashon Powers-Neal     Never Got A Chance

Travis Thomas              Bust

Darius Walker               Left A Year Before Graduation.  Not Drafted.  Bounced Around For A Few Years

Cierre Wood Statistics:

            GP-GS  Att       Gain     Avg.     TD       Long

2010     13-5      119       658       5.1        3          39

2011     13-9      217       1186     5.1        9          55

2012     10-4      110       758       6.7        4          68    (Obviously does not include the NC Game)

Subway Alumni Station strongly urges Cierre to obtain permission to return for a fifth year.  Mend his fences.  Earn a second degree, improve his statistics, stay clean and then roll the NFL dice.