Spy Kids and Bridget Jones' Diary were atop the box office in April 2001, the last time South Carolina did not have a player drafted. The Gamecocks have had 52 draftees since whiffing that year, including three in 2016 to give them multiple draftees for the eighth straight season. Both streaks are in serious jeopardy as they prepare for the Birmingham Bowl
Their bowl opponent, South Florida, on the other hand, is looking to start their own streak in 2017 after having zero players taken last April. And with one of the draft's most established running backs, they should do just that.
Here are the top 2017 NFL Draft prospects — a surprisingly small group — in the Birmingham Bowl, ranked:
| Rank | Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marlon Mack | RB | South Florida |
| 2 | Deatrick Nicholas | CB | South Florida |
| 3 | Darius English | DE | South Carolina |
A toss-up to return for his senior season, Mack has already amassed 3,500 rushing yards in his career on 7.1 yards per carry. He found the endzone 15 times on only 161 carries as a powerful but light-footed and shifty running back.
If he leaves, Mack will battle Jeremy McNichols (Boise State), Brian Hill (Wyoming), Donnel Pumphrey (San Diego State) and Kareem Hunt (Toledo) for first Group of Five running back off the board.
We're taking a big leap by predicting USF junior cornerback Deatrick Nichols leaves early for the 2017 NFL Draft.
Despite back-to-back All-AAC seasons that included eight interceptions and 12 pass breakups, the 5-foot-10, 189-pounder from Miami remains a late-round prospect. He plays bigger than his size in the red zone, is adequately aggressive in run support and ruthlessly attacks the football when tackling.
If he departs, he could be joined by South Carolina defensive end Darius English in the 5-7th rounds
A candidate for position change to outside linebacker, the 6-foot-6, 245-pound English used his quickness and versatility to rack up 10 sacks in 2016. He could vault into the third or fourth rounds with a phenomenal Birmingham Bowl performance and good pre-draft workouts. For now, English remains behind Nichols as a late-rounder.
