re: Why cant draft prospects return to school if they dont get drafted?

I don't know for sure, so take this wit ha grain of salt, but I think that when an underclassmen declares for the NFL draft, all he's really doing is officially forfeiting his remaining amateur eligibility so that the NFL has assurances that he's ready to turn pro no matter what. Seniors don't even have to "declare" for the draft. The NBA is the same way. The MLB is used to drafting guys out of high school that end up declining, so they don't care as much and are willing to draft guys without forcing them to forfeit their eligibility first.

Plus, even if a player went through the whole draft process without an agent, he'd also have to be very careful that he didn't accept any free meals, lodging, transportation, or gifts of any kind while attending the combine and pre-draft workouts with specific teams and stuff like that.

They could call it the Trev Faulk Rule.

Once they forgo their collegiate career, they shouldn't be allowed to come back. If UDFA players return to their respective universities, programs will then be oversigning scholarships. I'd rather give that freshman a scholarship than a junior who made the dumb decision to leave early. Luckily for LSU, our kids are drafted or signed as udfa's.