The NFL draft has come and gone, and so have a number of college football careers, with nothing to show for it.

A record 98-Underclassmen filed for the NFL draft. You know the marquee names, Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel and so many others. From South Carolina to Texas A&M and so many other places, they poured into the draft early, seeking fortune, fame and a football future.

Here are the names of those who filed, who you likely didn’t know, and must have regrets. Brett Smith, the record-setting quarterback at Wyoming, Kaprii Bibbs-the very good Colorado State running back, George Uko-the USC lineman and so many more. These guys now have nothing. They were not drafted, get no signing bonus, get invited to camps and likely get cut. They have no college eligibility left, and no degree in their hand either.

36-of the 98 players who put their name into the draft, did not hear their names called, and now have virtually no chance of starting an NFL career this summer, or having a pro football career ever.

Who’s to blame. The system? Agents? Families? Friends? Not everyone is cut out to be a college student. Not everyone’s family can afford to send them to school. Many need the place to play, to have a payday, to take care of those back home. It is a vicious circle.

There are lots of reasons players don’t get picked. Injuries that robbed Shane Skov of Stanford, an NFL career. Discipline issues that knocked Michigan State linebacker Max Bullogh off draft boards. Questions about playing at Northern Illinois and how quarterback Jordan Lynch might matchup at the next level. Too small QB-too slow a running back-too undersized to play in the line.

Somewhere, former San Diego State running back Adam Muema is facing reality. No degree, no eligibility, no jobs, and no-one willing to help him from the deep emotional plunge he took in the last month two months, when he left school, and started tweeting religious statements, while walking out of the NFL combine.

Gone forever for a bunch of college athletes are their hopes, and their earning power. The lure of the NFL draft is something. The whispers of family and friends gets louder and louder. The belief for a payday is always out there.

But for 36 of them-the NFL dream has ended, and a nitemare is about to begin. Somebody should say “why did you do this”, because they will never hear “With the 1st selection, we choose etc..etc”

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