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Linebacker Curtis Lofton talked to his family about leaving school early for the NFL. He talked to his coaches at Oklahoma. He talked to former Sooners who had faced the same decision – Tommie Harris, Teddy Lehman and Brodney Pool.

Lofton weighed all the advice and decided to pursue an NFL career, entering his name in the 2008 draft.

"It was a well-thought-out process," Lofton said. "I'm comfortable with my decision."

And he should be. He knows the NFL loves juniors.

Teams have drafted juniors with the first overall selection in the last three drafts and in 11 of the 18 drafts since the NFL opened the door to underclassmen in 1990.

Juniors have gone 1-2 in the last two drafts. Juniors went 1-2-3 in 1994 and 1-2-3-4 in 1997. Fourteen juniors were selected in the first round in 2007 and a record 15 in 2004.

For an elite player such as Lofton, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, the choices were obvious and the decision simple – play a fourth season at Oklahoma for free or earn millions as an NFL rookie.

Only one person advised Lofton to stay – Lehman, who played linebacker for the Sooners from 2000 to '03.

"He said the NFL is always going to be there and you only get to experience the atmosphere you have in college once," Lofton said. "He told me I could win a national championship. I thought about it, but a national championship is not guaranteed. Neither is the Butkus [Award]."

Lehman preached what he practiced. Faced with the same decision in 2003, Lehman opted to stay at Oklahoma. He was an All-Big 12 linebacker as a junior but turned his back on the money.

Lehman went on to win the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the nation and the Bednarik Award as the top defensive player. He was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2004 draft.

G.J. McCARTHY / DMN

Curtis Lofton's solid junior season made his decision to declare for the NFL draft easier.

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"I told him there was never a question in my mind about staying in school," recalled Lehman of his conversation with Lofton. "All of a sudden, it's a man's game. It's about money. You're in the business world – and it's the most cut-throat business in the world. I told him life does not get any better than it does right now.

"Whenever you step up to that next level, all the friends are gone. You get one shot. Sometimes you get no shot. To put it on a gamble to be drafted high by people who really don't even know – agents, draft analysts. You're putting it in the hands of people who aren't even doing the picking."

And it is a gamble – no matter how good a player thinks he is.

Trev Faulk was a two-time captain and two-time All-SEC linebacker at LSU, who decided to skip his senior season to enter the NFL in 2002. He went undrafted.

Kwame Cavil led the Big 12 in receiving in 1999 with 100 catches. He decided to leave Texas early to enter the NFL draft in 2000. He went undrafted. So did All-ACC linebackers Kai Parham of Virginia in 2006 and Jon Abbate of Wake Forest in 2007.

Darius Walker became the first player in more than a half-century to lead Notre Dame in rushing each of his first three seasons. He became only the fourth 1,000-yard back in school history in 2006 and set Notre Dame records for receptions by a running back for a season and career.

Walker decided to skip his senior season. He thought he was ready for the NFL, but he went undrafted.

Lehman is right – there are no guarantees. The reality is that failures outweigh the successes.

All the underclassmen expect to be drafted and most expect to go high. But of the 715 underclassmen who have filed for early entry into the draft since 1990, only 468 were drafted and just 184 went in the first round.

"Everyone is told they're a second- or third-round pick," Lehman said. "Everyone in the country can't be a second-round pick."

A record 53 underclassmen applied for early admission to the 2008 NFL draft. Like Lofton, many believe they have mastered the college game and want a new challenge.

"I set goals for myself," said Ray Rice, who leaves as Rutgers' all-time leading rusher. "As I reached those goals in college, I decided to pursue my dream as an NFL player."

Others felt the time was right.

"I knew after we won the Orange Bowl and I won the MVP award that I was coming out," Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib said. "It was set up too nice for me not to come out."

Others saw an opportunity.

"Everybody knows it's a weak running back class," Texas tailback Jamaal Charles said. "It was a good opportunity for me."

Still others left because they had achieved their most important goal in college – a degree.

"That's what Coach [Phil] Fulmer cares about first and foremost – make sure his players graduate," Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "They knew I had my degree, so they were happy for me and wished me the best of luck."

Mayo graduated in 3½ years with a degree in sports management.

Others cited coaching changes in their decisions to leave, including wide receivers Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington of Michigan, running back Steve Slaton of West Virginia and wideouts Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen of Hawaii.

"If Lloyd Carr had come back, I probably would have stayed," Arrington said.

One even cited financial hardship. Southern Cal guard Chilo Rachal said his parents are ailing and have no insurance.

"If it was up to me, I'd love to come back and get my degree and play another year under Coach [Pete] Carroll," Rachal said. "But at the same time, I had to do what was best for my family."

For Lofton, it was time to go.

"Tommie [Harris] told me to write down all my goals before the [2007] season," Lofton said. "He said if you accomplished most of them, you ought to come out.

"I wanted to make All-Big 12, lead my team in tackles, make All-America, win the Butkus and win a national championship. I didn't win the Butkus, and we didn't win the national championship, but I was on track with everything else.

"The only thing guaranteed was that I was healthy right now. I was coming off a great year, so I felt it was the right thing for me to do."