[OutsiderFan]

I must say players leaving after 3 years stinks. I always thought Stanford was special. Players leaving LSU or Alabama after 3 years sort of made sense, they might not be great students and struggled to stay eligible and/or its just easy to go back pay cheap in-state tuition and finish their kinesiology degree. But when it came to Stanford a degree was worth any risk of playing college football for another year

Why not go to Stanford, even if you know going in that if you are a top NFL draft prospect after three years you will leave.  I could easily see Stanford's recruiting pitch being:

We know you want to play in the NFL.  That's why we are recruiting you.  But for whatever reason you might not be able to make the jump to that next level.  If you come to Stanford you have the option to leave early if you are a coveted top draft prospect, but if you aren't, you have the best Plan B any football player could have.  If you leave early, you can come back and finish your degree if it's important for you.  But once on campus you may decide to put off the NFL because you want to graduate with your class.  You may even decide you'd rather not play in the NFL at all, but want to be a 5th year Senior who gets in a year of grad school.  No matter what, we prepare you for football at the next level and give you the opportunity to have a degree that sets you apart in the job market.

[OutsiderFan]

I must say players leaving after 3 years stinks. I always thought Stanford was special. Players leaving LSU or Alabama after 3 years sort of made sense, they might not be great students and struggled to stay eligible and/or its just easy to go back pay cheap in-state tuition and finish their kinesiology degree. But when it came to Stanford a degree was worth any risk of playing college football for another year

Why not go to Stanford, even if you know going in that if you are a top NFL draft prospect after three years you will leave.  I could easily see Stanford's recruiting pitch being:

We know you want to play in the NFL.  That's why we are recruiting you.  But for whatever reason you might not be able to make the jump to that next level.  If you come to Stanford you have the option to leave early if you are a coveted top draft prospect, but if you aren't, you have the best Plan B any football player could have.  If you leave early, you can come back and finish your degree if it's important for you.  But once on campus you may decide to put off the NFL because you want to graduate with your class.  You may even decide you'd rather not play in the NFL at all, but want to be a 5th year Senior who gets in a year of grad school.  No matter what, we prepare you for football at the next level and give you the opportunity to have a degree that sets you apart in the job market.