Oklahoma State Dez Bryant, a day after being suspended for the rest of 2009 for lying to the NCAA, won’t say whether he’ll give up his 2010 eligibility and enter the draft.
But he doesn’t have to. Given the cash grab that underclassmen will be making in 2010 due to fears of a lockout or an NBA-style rookie wage scale in 2011 and his experiences with the entity that will be able to screw up his resumed college career in 2010, Bryant will be making the jump.
As a league source reminds us, even if Bryant says now that he plans to make the jump to the NFL, no agents are permitted to communicate with the underclassman until his team’s final regular-season game, the team’s conference title game, or December 1, whichever is latest.
(In contrast, agents may communicate with Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford now. Even though he has one year of eligibility remaining, he is in his fourth year with the program.)
Meanwhile, yours truly invaded CFT last night to post a quick blurb regarding the NCAA’s motivations in suspending Bryant for the balance of the year.
Put simply, the NCAA has limited investigative powers, and no control over those who don’t fall within the scope of its jurisdiction. So when someone within that jurisdiction doesn’t tell the truth, it becomes even harder for the NCAA to do its job.