Should I stay or should I go?

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It’s the second week of January, and the college football national champion has already been crowned. There is now one question left looming for the nation’s most talented juniors and redshirt sophomores.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Not only is this the 1982 hit song from UK band The Clash, but it’s also the question the nation’s elite football players must answer by this Sunday.

Thanks to the new NFL collective bargain agreement set last August, the rookie wage system has thrown out the ridiculous lucrative contracts given to top 10 picks year after year. This means franchises will be be paying what used to be paid to unproven, snot-nosed, wide-eyed rookies to veterans who have earned their stripes by proving their values. I hope the 2012 class does not lay eyes on this.

Now, there is much consideration as ever for the respective player to decide whether or not to stay another season and play on Saturday or to forgo their junior/senior season and play with the big boys on Sunday.

Here are the questions they must answer:

1.) What Do I Have to Left to Prove/Is This As Good As It Gets?

Winning the Heisman trophy or a national championship should be an automatic cue to take your talents to New York City in April to have your name called in the first round.

Baylor University quarterback, demigod Robert Griffin III, may not have led his fellow Bears to a BCS bowl. But top-notch wins over TCU, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, programs who all won their bowl games, for a school that hadn’t won a bowl game since 1992, along with 4,293 yards passing and 47 total touchdowns (37 passing, 10 rushing) was enough. What else did the 6-foot-3, 220 pound junior have left to show the world? Time to cash in your chips and hit the big time, buddy.

Trent Richardson will have to decide if a national championship will suffice and put his Heisman hopes aside if he leaves the Crimson Tide. The only benefit he would have is to further engrave his legacy in Tuscaloosa and possibly ensure a back-to-back national champion team.

Players who opt to stay another season after winning one of the above used to considered the kiss of death – scouts could break down their game and find weaknesses or run the players ran the risk of significant injury – and staying was looked down upon.

And yes, these NFL players-to-be do care about where they get drafted. Many claim to forever hold a grudge against teams who passed up on them.

Oklahoma junior Landry Jones was formerly projected to be the first overall pick, but has decided to redeem both his once-esteemed draft status and his beloved Bob Stoops-led Sooners to the national championship. He also had the unfortunate luck of losing key weapons Ryan Broyles and Dominique Whaley in the season, but Oklahoma always seems to reload rather than rebuild when it comes to offensive ammunition. With Andrew Luck and Griffin declaring early, Jones should be one of the main preseason front runners for the Heisman next season.

Thanks to the the rookie wage system, players lose the risk of losing possibly tens of millions of dollars, so another year honing their skills may not be as detrimental as it used to. It may in fact boost their stock and place them higher in the draft rankings, which leads us to …

2.) Where Do I Place In My Position?

From the everyday Joe in asking for a raise, to Republican candidates who are considering dropping out of the race for GOP, this is a question that must be answered as well for NFL prospects. Speaking, er, writing of GOP candidates, this reminds me of my personal favorite candidate: Texas-born, fighting Aggie Rick Perry.

Wisconsin running back Montee Ball nearly surpassed Barry Sanders’ rushing touchdown record, tying him with 39 this season. Ball wasn’t satisfied with his third-round grade given to him by the NFL draft advisory board, especially in a class filled with the likes of Trent Richardson and LaMichael James, both frontrunners in being the first back taken. So, Ball will stay another season in Madison and prove to NFL scouts and teams he is first-round material, and maybe crack Sanders’ record while he’s at it.

Ball also has the sour taste of defeat in his mouth looming from the last-minute loss against Oregon in the Rose Bowl. With key player LaMichael James out of the picture in the battle for Pac-12 supremacy, a final question arises which must be answered …

3.) Should I Finish What I Started?

Southern Cal quarterback poster boy Matt Barkley has the shot to do something that USC hasn’t been able to achieve, let alone qualify for since 2009: a bowl game. Barkley may have been a top quarterback prospect for the upcoming draft, but the chance of staying another year and bringing acclaim back to Los Angeles that hasn’t been present since the Matt Leinart/Reggie Bush days was just too enticing. Barkley will be leading the Trojans next season for all the Pac-12 glory. He will also be under the tutelage of this fine alumnus.

The choice to go pro or stay another year is undoubtedly the toughest for a player to make since he initially selected the college to attend. This decision not only affects his life, but also his family’s life, the school’s BCS hopes, and other players considering making the leap to the pros.

So, you know, no pressure.

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