NFL Draft

NFL to Allow Underclassmen to Play in College All-Star Games

The league is allowing three postseason all-star games to invite underclassmen prospects ahead of the NFL Draft.

Luke Easterling

NFL to Allow Underclassmen to Play in College All-Star Games
NFL to Allow Underclassmen to Play in College All-Star Games /

The NFL has announced a massive change to college all-star games that could have a huge impact on the pre-draft process.

Starting this year, underclassmen prospects will be eligible to participate in the games, rather than just seniors, the league announced Wednesday.

The Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Game, and HBCU Legacy Bowl are the three events that will now be allowed to invite underclassmen to participate, per the league's memo announcing the move (via NFL Network's Tom Pelissero).

Every year, the all-star events give senior prospects an opportunity to compete against one another through a week of practice with NFL coaching, as well as a game at the end of the week. Many of the top prospects in every draft class are underclassmen, though, and have always been excluded from participation.

That all changes now, which means top prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class like USC quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and others will be eligible to take part in these games.

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Luke Easterling
LUKE EASTERLING

Luke Easterling (he/him) has been covering college football and the NFL for more than two decades, with a particular focus on the nexus of both, the NFL Draft. Writing for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in sports media, Luke's experience and expertise in evaluating potential NFL prospects and evaluating team needs/fits has earned the appreciation of his readers, and the respect of his peers. Luke cut his sports journalism teeth at The Tampa Tribune before spending two years at Bleacher Report as a featured columnist covering the NFL Draft and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke then spent nearly seven years at USA TODAY Sports Media Group as editor of Draft Wire and Bucs Wire, building both into authoritative destination sites for their respective audiences. Now at The Arena Group, Luke covers the NFL and college football for Athlon Sports, and runs Sports Illustrated's FanNation site for the NFL Draft. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Luke has been a featured guest on ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, SiriusXM and more.  Based in Tampa, Florida (the true home of the Cuban sandwich), Luke plays the drums, loves 2000s pop-punk, watches way too many British murder mystery shows, and channels the energy of his deep-south Grammy and his full-Italian Nana in the kitchen. Twitter: @lukeeasterling Email: luke.easterling@si.com

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