2018 NFL Draft: 5 most surprising returning players

More than 100 of college football’s top players declared early for the NFL Draft. That was not the case for these stars who chose to come back to school.

More than 100 collegiate players have chosen to forgo the rest of their college eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, several of them fail won’t be selected. Those that go undrafted will have to try their best to get their chance in the NFL through free agency.

For a handful of others, the choice is a different one, as they decide to remain in college and play out another season to see how much better they can improve. This year, the class of early entrants is a strong one, but it will not include these following players, as they have all decided to return to college football.

Here’s a look at those that made that decision:

In a shocking development, all three of Clemson’s standout defensive linemen have opted to return to Death Valley in hopes of another run to the College Football Playoff after reaching the semifinals this season.

Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant and Clelin Ferrell will re-join the Tigers as they chase a second national championship in three seasons.

This past year, Clemson had one of the top overall defenses in the country, and the strength of that unit was upfront in the trenches. Most still felt as if the Tigers would have a good defensive line next year led by Dexter Lawrence and another talented recruiting class, but now, they will have depth and experience.

Wilkins recorded five sacks and nine tackles for loss last year among his 60 stops. He’ll begin his senior season having started the last three seasons for Clemson and recording 26.5 tackles for loss.

Bryant is coming of his best year to date, as he made 50 tackles, with 15.5 of them being for loss with 8.5 sacks. He even had an interception and forced two fumbles.

Ferrell had the best stats of the three, as the sophomore made 66 tackles with 18 of them being for loss and 9.5 sacks.