Youth knocks at NFL's door

The punishing demands of pro football, he says, would crush most 17- and 18-year-olds. In addition, Mr. Butler says temptations to try their luck in the draft would cost many young players a chance to go to college and develop career alternatives if football doesn't pan out."It's just a bad idea all the way around," he says. "Those boys aren't ready for the pro game. And what happens if they don't make it?"

Others point to the opinion of Gene Upshaw, the top executive at the NFL Players Association. Mr. Upshaw, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman during his playing career with the Oakland Raiders, has, along with the union, been steadfast in supporting the league's position.

"I think Gene is very sincere in this," says Gary Roberts, director of the sports law program at Tulane University. "He's not just going along with what [NFL Commissioner] Paul Tagliabue says. He really believes kids should not be out there on an NFL field. Coming from a guy who played the game at its highest levels, that means something."

Mr. Roberts believes the league will prevail in its campaign to keep younger players out of the draft. He cites the inclusion of draft requirements in the NFL collective bargaining agreement as a strong precedent for future legal rulings to keep the current system intact.

Many observers come back to football's physical demands. Even compared with the rough-and-tumble world of hockey, they say, pro football requires more raw strength and brute force.

McKeag points to many of the college players eligible for this weekend's seven-round NFL draft. Many of those players, he says, have been transformed through several years of college football and attendant off-season weight and conditioning programs.

A typical example: Robert Gallery, the Iowa offensive lineman pegged as the best in this draft. He arrived at Iowa as a 6-ft., 7 in., 240-pound tight end. By the end of his college career, Mr. Gallery weighed 323 pounds and transformed into a monster lineman.

"Look at the differences between a freshman football player and a senior," McKeag says. "It's amazing."

Beyond physical maturity, experts say allowing high school stars into the NFL draft would only exacerbate the problem of young players prematurely setting their sights on big-time sports careers.

Roberts, the Tulane law professor, says one benefit for colleges would be the presence on campus of fewer athletes who are there only to further their professional prospects.

"It would make it more about true students," he says. "From the players' perspectives, though, they're better off with the way it is now."

Something few consider is the mental demand of playing in the NFL, says Randy Cross, a CBS broadcaster who spent 13 years in the league. Few high school players have to memorize revamped playbooks once a season, much less on a weekly basis, he says.

Beyond that, 18-year-olds can't knock heads with players five and 10 years older for a sustained period of time. The NFL season is far longer and more grueling than both college and high school schedules.

Most of all, Mr. Cross fears a surfeit of has-beens in their early 20s. Bounced out of the game (the average NFL career spans three to four years), or worse, and with only a high school diploma in hand, what will they do next?

"This may sound harsh," he says. "But I think McDonald's has enough people to work at their counter already."

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