INDIANAPOLIS — Seemingly every year, a record number of players leave college eligibility on the table and declare for the NFL Draft.

Georgia had several candidates to do so, but running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel decided to return to the Bulldogs. So did linebackers Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter. As a result, UGA is a trendy pick to win the East in 2017.

There was one exception, though. Receiver Isaiah McKenzie — at times the only reliable pass catcher for then-freshman quarterback Jacob Eason — left Athens after his junior season to chase his dreams at the next level. As a matter of fact, he’s the only former member of the Dawgs at the Scouting Combine this year.

However, he’s far from a lock to hear his name called in the draft. Unfortunately, McKenzie may be destined for undrafted-free-agent status.

At 5-foot-7 and 173 pounds, it goes without saying that McKenzie lacks ideal size to be a wideout in the pros. Sure, he led Georgia with 44 catches for 633 yards and 7 touchdowns a year ago, but the Bulldogs were thin at the position.

Despite the fact that McKenzie had reeled in just 16 passes his first two seasons at UGA, he was already considering an early jump before this past year even began. Prior to breaking out offensively in 2016 — and owning the conference’s best nickname, “the human joystick” — up until that point he was a glorified return man.

There are mechanisms in place to help prospects understand if they’re truly ready to make the leap from Saturday football to Sunday.

But once a player commits to turning the page on the college game in order to go pro, that’s it. There are no do-overs if someone with a Round 2 grade goes in Round 4 or a supposed fifth-rounder doesn’t get selected at all.

According to the draftniks at CBS Sports, McKenzie is no better than the No. 37 prospect at his own position. That puts him in the vicinity of Round 7 — or potentially not getting that eagerly anticipated phone call. There are some receivers at the combine with grades lower than McKenzie, but not many.

When Saturday Down South asked the Ft. Lauderdale native about his pre-draft evaluation from the league, his response was a bit alarming.

“I didn’t see it,” McKenzie said, “anything like that, so I don’t even know.”

That’s not how this is supposed to work. Sometimes, you have to save these players from themselves. Maybe McKenzie didn’t talk to the right people and get the information he needed. Or, perhaps, he didn’t really want to know.

At this time last year, former Mississippi State receiver De’Runnya Wilson turned down his senior season in Starkville — quarterback Dak Prescott departing may have had something to do with it — in order to make himself draft-eligible. Not only did he go undrafted, but he couldn’t even stick on a practice squad. Now, he’s out of football.

There have been NFL success stories that began with odds much longer than McKenzie’s. He’s got an uphill battle, though.

Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (16) runs the ball against North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Cole Holcomb (36) during the first quarter of the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

PICK SIX

  • Not that it necessarily matters, but LSU’s Leonard Fournette had one of the worst vertical jumps in recent memory at the running back position. As a matter of fact, his leap of 28.5 inches was topped by seven offensive linemen at the combine. Fournette gets compared to SEC legend Bo Jackson, although not for his ability to go over the top for a touchdown from close range.
  • Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara was one of the hottest draft prospects prior to arriving in Indy, and so far he’s lived up to the hype. Thursday he put up a respectable 15 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds, and then Friday he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds. What a leaper, too. His 39.5-inch vertical jump and 10-foot, 11-inch broad jump were both tops among the backs.
  • Fournette wasn’t one of the league’s 1,000-yard rushers last year. He was too injured. Neither was Kamara. He was too overshadowed. Kentucky’s Stanley “Boom” Williams, on the other hand, cracked quadruple digits. He tied Fournette with a time of 4.51 seconds in the 40 and was among the top performers at his position with 18 bench-press reps. Williams has looked good thus far.
  • According to Mike Mayock of NFL Network, Alabama’s Cam Robinson projects best at guard. But don’t tell that to Robinson, who lined up at left tackle exclusively for the Crimson Tide. He certainly moved like a tackle throughout his workout. Robinson even got a little chesty on Twitter once he was done with his drills, presumably in response to Mayock’s evaluation of his game.
  • LSU’s Ethan Pocic put his strength and straight-line speed on display. His 26 reps on the bench press tied for seventh among offensive linemen, while his time of 5.15 seconds in the 40 tied for eighth. That being said, the former Tiger struggled with agility. With times of 7.89 and 4.81 seconds in the 3-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle, respectively, neither made the Top 15.
  • The SEC is widely considered to be the fastest conference in America, but so far the results of the 40-yard dash at the combine don’t reflect that. The 4.51 seconds posted by Fournette and Williams tied for 10th among running backs. Both the ACC and Pac-12 had multiple ball carriers show up in the Top 9. North Carolina’s T.J. Logan recorded the best time of the day at 4.37.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.