UCLA QB Brett Hundley joined the small but annual cast of college prospects who choose to stay in school one more year despite the promise of a high draft pick and professional riches. The story was broken by the indefatigable Adam Schefter via twitter, according to NBC Sports, and is expected to be announced officially this week.
It's unclear at the moment why the potential top-10 pick decided to stay, but there a few obvious explanations. For one, the team has improved in each of his two seasons, from 9-5 last year to 10-3 this year, including last week's 42-12 win in the Holiday Bowl over Virginia Tech. With a young cast on offense at almost every position (losing only leading WR Shaquelle Evans), the Bruins could be a top-four squad next year -- with the 2014-15 season marking the debut of the four-team, BCS playoff.
Secondly, Hundley and those close to him might not have felt he was quite ready for the NFL. Supporting that fact is Hundley's decision to redshirt his freshman year; clearly, he's not opposed to waiting for his highly regarded potential to develop.
If Hundley isn't yet ready, the move makes sense. Even if he doesn't develop next year like he, his coaches, and NFL scouts would prefer, an improved offense and a better team should at least help increase his statistics, which should be enough to keep him in round one discussions. The only argument against that are the several NFL teams who currently have Hundley as their number one ranked quarterback, according to ESPN. Should those teams draft that position this year or Hundley not progress as expected, he may lose out on that chance.
Then again, maybe that's the point. Hundley may want to prove to every NFL team he's worthy of a top pick or prove to every team he's not. One more season should at least give a clearer answer.
