Yesterday, I reported on Jeff Sperbeck’s 2012 NFL Draft Class at The NOVO Agency.  Sperbeck has signed RB LaMichael James from Oregon and WR Nick Toon from Wisconsin.  Toon is being co-represented by Ralph Cindrich.

Cindrich is a member of the Texas and Pennsylvania bar.  He was a 1972 5th round NFL draft choice and played professional football with the Houston Oilers and the New England Patriots for four years from 1972 to 1975.  He also played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh where he was a two-sport All-American and All-East in football (1969, 1971) and wresting (Eastern Champion, 4th NCAA, 1969).  Cindrich started representing players in 1977, and still represents NFL players to this day.

Other than Toon, Cindrich is representing WR/Special Teams player TJ Borcky of Colorado State and LB Andrew Sweat of THE Ohio State University.  Toon is the highest rated player of the three, but Cindrich is likely representing all three players in large part based on his ties to their family members.  These days, Cindrich seems to be doing more teaching, lawyering, and tweeting than agenting.  I wish him the best with his three new clients.

Catching Up With Ralph Cindrich’s 2012 NFL Draft Class from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

When Brian Overstreet of E Overstreet Sports Management signed Dre Kirkpatrick, he must have been counting his blessings.  Kirkpatrick has been recognized as one of (if not the) best cornerbacks in the country.  Kirkpatrick, who declared for the 2012 NFL Draft after his Junior season at Alabama, is constantly mentioned in the same breath as LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne (who is represented by Bus Cook and may be the first cornerback off the Board).

Anyway, Overstreet had no idea that he would be dealing with legal issues surrounding his cornerback client in the month of February.  On January 17, 2012, Kirkpatrick was arrested for possession of marijuana.  Kirkpatrick claimed that he was not involved in the purchase of the marijuana and did not even know that pot was being purchased when his friend, Christopher Airreun Rogers, picked up the order.

Luckily for Kirkpatrick and Overstreet, Kirkpatrick will not be prosecuted on the possession of marijuana charge.  I doubt that the matter will affect Kirkpatrick’s Draft stock.

Brian Overstreet Is Over Dre Kirkpatrick’s Marijuana Possession Arrest from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Around this time last year, it looked like Joe Flanagan and his DePere, Wisconsin based company, BTI Sports Advisors was going to be representing a #1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  The player who was supposed to be taken high was Da’Quan Bowers, a defensive end from Clemson.  By the time that the NFL Draft took place, Bowers’ draft stock slipped quite a bit and he was not selected until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scooped him up with the #51 overall pick.

Once again, BTI Sports Advisors has a chance at representing a first round pick.  The agency is hoping that their new client, Wisconsin center Peter Konz will improve his draft stock instead of go the way of Bowers from last year.  Konz is already listed as the #1 player at his position and #21 player overall in the 2012 NFL Draft (according to NFLDraftScout.com).

BTI Sports Advisors Signs Top NFL Draft Center Peter Konz from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Former LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson was selected #5 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft.  In the 2012 NFL Draft, another LSU cornerback may be off the board within the first five picks.  Peterson was represented by a lesser known agent named Patrick Lawlor of Galaxy Sports.  This year’s star cornerback from LSU, Morris Claiborne, is represented by a man who is oft recognized for being the agent of Brett Favre – Bus Cook.

Representing athletes from the southeast is nothing new for Cook.  Last year, his name was on the Standard Representation Agreement for six players selected in the Draft (four from Mississippi State, one from Ole Miss, and Cam Newton – #1 overall pick from Auburn).

Claiborne will not be the first overall pick in 2012 and likely won’t be the second pick either, but there is a strong possibility that he is the first cornerback taken in the Draft.  He is leaving LSU a year early, but not before earning All-American honors and the Jim Thorpe Award, which is awarded to the top defensive back in college football.

Top 2012 NFL Draft Cornerback Morris Claiborne Signs With Bus Cook from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

• Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska, CB, 3rd Position, 17th Overall, Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, 1st Team All Big Ten
• Melvin Ingram, South Carolina, OLB, 1st Position, 19th Overall, 1st Team SEC, 1st Team All American
• Michael Floyd, Notre Dame, WR, 3rd Position, 22nd Overall, Notre Dame MVP 2x, FBS Independent Offensive POY
• Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State, OG, 4th Position, 43rd Overall, 1st Team Big XII, 2009 Big XII 2nd Team
• Nick Foles, Arizona, QB, 4th Position, 50th overall, Pac 12 Honorable Mention, Unitas Finalist
• Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M, RB, 9th Position, 100th Overall, 2 time Big XII honorable mention
• Harrison Smith, Notre Dame, SS, 3rd Position, 102nd Overall, All Independent 1st Team, Notre Dame Team Captain
• Kennan Robinson, Texas, OLB, 13th Position, 108th Overall, Big XII 2nd team, Butkis Awards semi-finalist
• Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M, WR, 20th Position, 158th Overall, Big XII Honorable Mention
• Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma, WR, 22nd Position, 178th Overall, 2010 and 2011 All American, NCAA all time leading receiver
• Ryan Miller, Colorado, OG, 12th Position, 220th Overall, 3rd Team All American
• Kellen Moore, Boise State, QB, 12th Position, 221st Overall, 2010 Heisman finalist, 2x All-American

Melvin Ingram and Alfonzo Dennard were discussed in this Sports Agent Blog post on January 5, 2012.

NFLDraftScout.com was used to provide the position and overall ranks listed above .

Catching Up With Athletes First’s 2012 NFL Draft Class from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Octagon Football represents 6 players who were selected in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Those players range from Cameron Jordan (defensive end selected #24 overall by the New Orleans Saints) to Stephen Schilling (offensive lineman selected #201 overall by the San Diego Chargers).

Every year, Octagon Football represents a number of players who drafted, and Octagon is able to retain its standing as one of the most prominent football agencies in America.  2012 will undoubtedly bring Octagon a host of new NFL players, as many of the following names who are Octagon clients will be called between rounds 1-7 of this year’s Draft.

• Courtney Upshaw – outside linebacker – Alabama – NFLDraftScout: 2 (position), 21 (overall)
• Whitney Mercilus – defensive end – Illinois – NFLDraftScout: 2 (position), 31 (overall)
• Brandon Weeden - quarterback – Oklahoma State – NFLDraftscout: 6 (position), 82 (overall)
• Michael Egnew - tight end – Missouri – NFLDraftScout: 4 (position), 98 (overall)
• Jamell Fleming - cornerback – Oklahoma – NFLDraftScout: 19 (position), 141 (overall)
• Mychal Kendricks - inside linebacker – California – NFLDraftScout: 7 (position), 155 (overall)
• Marc Tyler - running back – Southern California – NFLDraftScout: 20 (position), 202 (overall)
• Kyle Wilber - outside linebacker - Wake Forest – NFLDraftScout: 21 (position), 207 (overall)
• Marvin Jones – wide receiver – California – NFLDraftScout: 28 (position), 228 (overall)
• Joe Looney – offensive guard – Wake Forest – NFLDraftScout: 16 (position), 305 (overall)
• Peyton Thompson – cornerback – San Jose State – likely undrafted

Congratulations to Mike Sullivan, Doug Hendrickson, CJ Laboy, Andy Ross, and the others on the Octagon Football team for what seems to be a very impressive 2012 NFL Draft class.

Catching Up With Octagon’s 2012 NFL Draft Class from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

If three years have passed since a college football player’s high school class graduated, he is officially eligible to declare for the NFL Draft.  Typically, that rule provides redshirt Sophomores and true Juniors the opportunity to leave school early and test their luck with NFL teams.

Players who are interested in declaring for the NFL prior to the culmination of their Senior seasons must express their intent to enter the NFL Draft prior to January 15 of each calendar year.  Thereafter, those players who have soft-declared have a 3-day window (until January 18) to decide whether they will remain eligible to be selected in the forthcoming NFL Draft or remove their names from the pool.  Importantly, if an underclassman hires as agent, that player will forfeit his remaining eligibility to play college football whether or not the player withdraws his name from the NFL Draft pool.

Today being January 17, there is a large group of underclassmen who have soft-declared for the 2012 NFL Draft, and who have roughly 24 hours to change their minds.  There are currently 61 underclassmen who believe that they are prepared to make the jump to the NFL.  While players such as Justin Blackmon, Robert Griffin III, and Andrew Luck are sure to be very high picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, there are many players listed who may not be selected at all.  They have taken risks (hopefully calculated risks with the advice of knowledgeable and caring advisors) to forfeit their remaining eligibility in favor of the perceived riches waiting for them in the NFL.  Further, they have hopefully utilized the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, and submitted their information to get their current draft grades.

61 Underclassmen Soft-Declare For 2012 NFL Draft from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Drew Rosenhaus is now representing two players at the quarterback position who hope to be selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.  I have already reported that Rosenhaus represents former University of Miami quarterback Jacory Harris.  Rosenhaus also recently signed up former Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus has signed QB Darron Thomas

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) January 15, 2012

Thomas is leaving a year of eligibility on the table by declaring for the NFL Draft this year.  However, he certainly proved himself at Oregon, throwing for 2,761 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2011 alone.  Thomas has already earned his degree and understands that he may not be picked until later in the draft, and that he runs the risk of not being drafted at all.  However, if he excels in his workouts, he is the type of player who could see his draft stock rise quite a bit.

It will be interesting to watch how Rosenhaus, an agent not known for representing many QBs, manages representing both Jacory Harris and Darron Thomas leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft, and whether Rosenhaus signs any more QBs prior to the start of the draft.

Drew Rosenhaus Signs Oregon QB Darron Thomas from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

University of Florida running back Jeff Demps is putting aside his dreams to play professional football to focus on getting prepared to run track in the 2012 Olympics.  Don’t expect the same for the 6’3 302lb Florida defensive tackle Jaye Howard.  Howard, who was recently named Honorable Mention All-SEC by the Associated Press, has signed with Drew Rosenhaus of Rosenhaus Sports Representation.  Rosenhaus was reportedly in Gainesville, Florida last week and sealed the deal with Howard at that time.

NFLDraftScout.com currently ranks Howard as the 21st best defensive tackle available in the 2012 NFL Draft and the 213th best player overall.  He has already accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl.  A big question will be whether Howard will put forth enough effort to excel at the next level.  His big knock in college was that he did not seem to always give it everything he had on the field.

Florida Gators DT Jaye Howard Signs With Drew Rosenhaus from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The NFL’s decision is an interesting one.  Underclassmen have until January 15 to declare for the Draft and until January 18 to withdraw their names.  The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will not take place until January 21.  Thus, the concern that scouts will be in person watching players who still have student-athlete eligibility is moot.  But a rule is a rule, and the NFL has put its foot down.

No NFL Scouts Will Attend Inaugural NFLPA Collegiate Bowl from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules