Does Kupp declare this year?

[Silenoz]

...and if so, what round does he go in?

[tomq04]

He'll go to Oregon first.

Looks like Jordan West might be joining him the way this season is going.

[Silenoz]

I can't remember where I saw it, but someone asked him that question, and he said he's either finishing up at EWU, or going to the NFL.

And unlike coaches, I think a player's comments can actually be trusted

[Grizalltheway]

Gosh I hope so.

[Red & Black]

I think there's a 50/50 chance he could go. I hope that was sarcasm from Tomq04, he was asked directly if he was considering transferring anywhere, and he said he was either staying or declaring.

My personal opinion is that he stays for his Senior year, just due to a few different reasons. He has the chance to shatter basically every receiving record in the FCS. Plus, another year of getting to play with his younger brother has to be somewhat appealing.

[dudeitsaid]

I think there's a 50/50 chance he could go. I hope that was sarcasm from Tomq04, he was asked directly if he was considering transferring anywhere, and he said he was either staying or declaring.

My personal opinion is that he stays for his Senior year, just due to a few different reasons. He has the chance to shatter basically every receiving record in the FCS. Plus, another year of getting to play with his younger brother has to be somewhat appealing.

I think those are good points, and I have no idea what's in his head. He certainly would have the opportunity to set the bar so high on many of those records, it would likely be a very long time till they were broken. And playing with his brother another year could be very compelling as well. But with the frequency and danger of injuries, and the possibility of ruining an NFL career before it even starts, I could see him following the trend of Taiwan Jones and Brandon Kaufman. I would love to see him play for EWU next year. But if he continues the rest of the season on the same pace, he will still break most of those records anyway, and I think it would just be smarter for him not to take the risk of injury, and declare early.

[bobcathpdevil56]

As already stated, Gawd I hope so.

[Cocky]

No idea but he better take the money while its available. Waiting till next year eliminates one year of your potential earnings.

[bertram]

I think he's better suited to stay, break more records , play the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl/ Reese's Senior Bowl. Get drafted as a weapon to be used rather than go early as a project player. No question he has the talent to play Sundays right now though.

[MSUBobcat]

I throw $20 in to a signing bonus pool if he declares now...

[X-Factor]

For EWU's sake I hope he stays. I can't believe Kupp is only a Junior. WOW. However, I feel pretty strongly that the best decision by a landslide will be to go to the NFL. Take the money while you can because you never know how long it will last.

Think of it this way: in his first year he could make more than a lot of people make in their lifetime. Stupid to turn that down and take the risk that things will be as good or better next year. Injuries happen all the time. He will have better coaches, advisors, and access to the best training if he goes. FCS records are great, but who cares when you're on that kind of stage?

[Mr. C]

For EWU's sake I hope he stays. I can't believe Kupp is only a Junior. WOW. However, I feel pretty strongly that the best decision by a landslide will be to go to the NFL. Take the money while you can because you never know how long it will last.

Think of it this way: in his first year he could make more than a lot of people make in their lifetime. Stupid to turn that down and take the risk that things will be as good or better next year. Injuries happen all the time. He will have better coaches, advisors, and access to the best training if he goes. FCS records are great, but who cares when you're on that kind of stage?
It didn't work out so well for Brandon Kaufman. My suggestion would be that Kupp stay for his senior year.

[uofmman1122]

It didn't work out so well for Brandon Kaufman. My suggestion would be that Kupp stay for his senior year.
Kaufman was a great receiver, but he's no Kupp.

Kupp is the best receiver out of the FCS in forever. He could declare after this season and I'd be shocked if he fell below the second round.

[smallcollegefbfan]

...and if so, what round does he go in?

There is a very good chance he comes out. I know he wants to declare. The factors that I hope he is weighing and considering, and we have to keep in mind are the following

1. Staying gives him a chance to play one more year with his brother.
2. Could break about every FCS receiving record by staying.
3. Former EWU WR Brandon Kaufman declared early and that did not work out well.
4. There are some people who have given bad advice to former EWU players in Kupp's ear. I won't say who but there are some especially some fans who run draft websites and try to tell these players they have worked in the NFL or want to help them and they can't help them in any way.
5. FCS underclassmen who have declared in the last 5 years have not fared nearly as well on draft day as they hoped for.

I like Kupp more than Kaufman. If Kupp runs a 4.5 or 4.6 he is a likely 5th round pick. If he runs a 4.4 then he will go in the 50-100 range. This could all change but that's where he likely stands right now.

For the record, he needs to come back one more year. He could break all the records and go in the 2nd round for sure if he stays.

[smallcollegefbfan]

For EWU's sake I hope he stays. I can't believe Kupp is only a Junior. WOW. However, I feel pretty strongly that the best decision by a landslide will be to go to the NFL. Take the money while you can because you never know how long it will last.

Think of it this way: in his first year he could make more than a lot of people make in their lifetime. Stupid to turn that down and take the risk that things will be as good or better next year. Injuries happen all the time. He will have better coaches, advisors, and access to the best training if he goes. FCS records are great, but who cares when you're on that kind of stage?

Brandon Kaufman did the same thing and it did not work out well. I normally agree but FCS players should never declare early. They should either graduate early and move up to FBS to prove they are a top 50-100 pick or stay in school and get their degree. The average NFL career lasts about 3 years while a degree lasts a lifetime.

[JayJ79]

Kupp is the best receiver out of the FCS in forever. He could declare after this season and I'd be shocked if he fell below the second round.

better than Jerry Rice?

[UNI Pike]

David Ball of New Hampshire has FCS career receiving TD NCAA record @ 58. Kupp has 46 3/4th through the Sac State game. Within possibility if he stays healthy for the rest of the season in that EWU offense.

[X-Factor]

Brandon Kaufman did the same thing and it did not work out well. I normally agree but FCS players should never declare early. They should either graduate early and move up to FBS to prove they are a top 50-100 pick or stay in school and get their degree. The average NFL career lasts about 3 years while a degree lasts a lifetime.
Ok I can appreciate that point. However, if he has a good shot at the top 2 rounds (big if) I would still go. College degrees are wonderful, but it can wait until the football career is over provided the individual has enough discipline. This is coming from someone who has 4 of them

[kalm]

There is a very good chance he comes out. I know he wants to declare. The factors that I hope he is weighing and considering, and we have to keep in mind are the following

1. Staying gives him a chance to play one more year with his brother.
2. Could break about every FCS receiving record by staying.
3. Former EWU WR Brandon Kaufman declared early and that did not work out well.
4. There are some people who have given bad advice to former EWU players in Kupp's ear. I won't say who but there are some especially some fans who run draft websites and try to tell these players they have worked in the NFL or want to help them and they can't help them in any way.
5. FCS underclassmen who have declared in the last 5 years have not fared nearly as well on draft day as they hoped for.

I like Kupp more than Kaufman. If Kupp runs a 4.5 or 4.6 he is a likely 5th round pick. If he runs a 4.4 then he will go in the 50-100 range. This could all change but that's where he likely stands right now.

For the record, he needs to come back one more year. He could break all the records and go in the 2nd round for sure if he stays.

Kaufmann was injury prone. He suffered a severe fracture in high school that turned off all the interest he was getting from FBS programs and he played hurt almost his entire career at EWU with various injuries. He definitely got some bad advice but I think the injury situation is what convinced him to come out and also probably played a roll in why he couldn't make a roster.

The other reason he couldn't make a roster was that he was not quick off the ball and could not create early separation from an NFL DB which is obviously crucial with the tighter windows and short passing game. He was so-so fast once he got rolling but obviously not fast enough.

Perhaps Kupp's best attribute is his route running and ability to hand fight and create that separation. It's amazing to watch a guy who everyone in the stadium knows about continue to get wide open play after play.

So I think the two players are noticeably different. I hope Coop makes the best decision for himself, won't blame him if he comes out early, and it would be fantastic to watch him for another year chase down some records and maybe compete for a deep playoff run. The transfer option would obviously piss me the **** off to no end.

[veinup]

I was watching a stream of the game last night which had SAC commentators, at some point they were like .. Dang, West and this Cooper Kupp fella are really good, maybe they should transfer to a PAC 12 school!

lol comedy.

[UNI Pike]

The game last night was ugly, tons of dropped passes, fumbles, muffed punt returns and penalties galore.

From my NSA monitored nexus 5

[Red & Black]

The game last night was ugly, tons of dropped passes, fumbles, muffed punt returns and penalties galore.

From my NSA monitored nexus 5

It really was. Probably the worst half of EWU football I've watched in a long time. The first half of the UNI game wasn't even that bad. The good news is that even after anything and everything going wrong in that first half and missing 10 starters to start the game, they still found a way to pitch a shutout in the 2nd half and grab a win. This is probably the best time imaginable to have a bye week prior to facing Cal Poly at home.

[Red & Black]

Ok I can appreciate that point. However, if he has a good shot at the top 2 rounds (big if) I would still go. College degrees are wonderful, but it can wait until the football career is over provided the individual has enough discipline. This is coming from someone who has 4 of them

Possibility of injury is always a major concern, but in Kupp's case I think the chances of being drafted in a higher round after playing another year might outweigh them. You add to that the fact that Cooper is also one of the most durable players I've ever seen play at EWU.

[Drblankstare]

Towards the end of the season, don't players get some kind of draft grades? I remember something last year about Sabin bitching about his players taking it to easy to avoid injuries. Anyone have insight about that?

[bobcathpdevil56]

I will drive to Cheney, pick Cooper up, grab him a BK broiler, then drop him off at the airport bound for the city in which whatever NFL team, who gets lucky enough to draft him, resides. He is too good for the BSC. He needs to go xsmiley_wix

[UNI Pike]

Towards the end of the season, don't players get some kind of draft grades? I remember something last year about Sabin bitching about his players taking it to easy to avoid injuries. Anyone have insight about that?
a player can ask the nfl to give him a draft projection. This is non binding on both parties, and allows the player to have some feedback from those spending the dollars. It's a best guess scenario.

I would be surprised if he does not request the assessment. I don't think it costs anything - it's probably 50x times more honest than his uncle's opinion.

From my NSA monitored nexus 5

[Kemo]

Possibility of injury is always a major concern, but in Kupp's case I think the chances of being drafted in a higher round after playing another year might outweigh them. You add to that the fact that Cooper is also one of the most durable players I've ever seen play at EWU.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGMUAMevH0

[Screamin_Eagle174]

For EWU's and Coop's sake, I hope he stays through his senior year. While Kupp is arguably a better overall player than both Kauf and TJ, the precedent with not only EWU players but FCS players declaring early and having success has not been great (as SCFBF said).

I wouldn't blame him either way though.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

SmallCollege... what do you think Kupp's odds are at winning the Payton? I'd imagine he'd have the best chance of any non-QB to win the award since Colgate's Jamaal Branch. If he continues at his current pace, would he be a lock?