Dodd: College football teams hit hardest by early entries in the 2021 NFL Draft

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Though roster turnover is a part of life for every school, these ones in particular find themselves with plenty to replace in 2021.

1 Penn St.
2 Stanford

3 Georgia

Georgia returns a pretty good core of players for 2021 to make a run at the SEC East title, but not without losing a few big-time defenders. Linebacker Azeez Ojulari as well as cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes are entering the draft. Stokes was an All-America selection, and Campbell and Ojulari were key members of a defense that finished in the top 10 nationally in yards per play allowed. The Bulldogs have been recruiting at an elite level to rebuild after departures like these, but that's three all-conference-caliber players moving on.

4 Texas
5 USC

6 South Carolina

Coaching changes can assist in the decision-making process for draft-eligible underclassmen. Even though South Carolina's 2-8 season resulted in Will Muschamp getting fired, there are some good players leaving Columbia early. Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu were the team's top defensive backs and linebacker Ernest Jones was the team's leading tackler in each of the past two seasons. Now, the Gamecocks will have to rebuild a defense that finished 12th in the SEC in points per game allowed.

7 Alabama

Ho hum, just another year of Alabama saying goodbye to underclassmen who helped win a national title. Quarterback Mac Jones, receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Patrick Surtain II are all first-round talents, and linebacker Dylan Moses is a stalwart. But perhaps no one helped their stock more this past season than defensive lineman Christian Barmore. The redshirt freshman had three TFLs and two sacks in the College Football Playoff. Yes, Alabama will likely reload at those positions, but here's what Alabama is losing: the nation's leading passer, the team's fastest wideout, one of the best-graded corners in the country and a disruptive force in the trenches. Good problems to have, I suppose.

8 Miami

9 LSU

A year after losing nine underclassmen to the draft, LSU once again finds itself saying an early goodbye to key players. The team's top two wideouts -- Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. -- have declared with Chase opting out of the season before it began. Defensive lineman Tyler Shelvin also opted out before the start of the season. While the Tigers had a lot of time to adjust to life without Chase and Shelvin, that doesn't mean their losses aren't significant.

10 BYU

Honorable mentions: Auburn, Louisville, North Carolina, Oklahoma

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