There is a monumental question facing college football 2004. It has nothing to do with the number of starters returning to USC or how BCS honchos propose to fix their broken system.

The matter was in the hands of Shira A. Scheindlin, a U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan -- Maurice Clarett v. the National Football League.

It's a lawsuit that could change the direction of college football, while forcing the NFL to backpedal. Scheindlin decided Thursday that Clarett, an Ohio State running back who was suspended for his sophomore season due to receiving extra benefits, is immediately eligible to enter the NFL draft.

What could it mean? After all, the NFL has stipulated that players aren't eligible for its draft until three years following the graduation of their senior class. If that is lifted, what then?  Will some high school players turn pro? Will the college ranks be depleted of its brightest stars? In short, will the results be disastrous?

I don't think so, at least in the short term. Clarett to the NFL? For that matter, Pittsburgh sophomore wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to the NFL? Those are two special cases, two unique players. It's difficult to make an argument about holding them back.

Clarett doesn't appear to have much interest in continuing his education. Fitzgerald, a stunning talent, absolutely seems prepared for the next level. Let them go. This is America, the land where professional contracts are signed by high school players in baseball, basketball and hockey. Why not football?  In the cases of Clarett and Fitzgerald, it probably would work. But a mass exodus? I don't see it.

Even Fitzgerald sees the potential harm. 

Clarett going pro Clarett to enter draft after judge refuses to suspend appeal Celizic: RB making huge mistake by going pro NFL would probe Clarett's relationship with gambler, report says Clarett still most prove himself to NFL scouts, coaches Borges: Bottom line is why NFL wanted Clarett to stay Johnston: Ruling won't hurt college football

"Each man has to do what's best for that man," Fitzgerald said. "It has to be on an individual basis. We can't have it be like the NBA, where a lot of guys who are going (pro) are just not ready to go. I don't think the NFL wants that to happen to the young football players.''

Of course, the NFL has its own self-serving reasons for keeping the status quo. College football is the ultimate farm system, free of charge. Players are developed, sometimes into ready-made first-year All-Pros.

The attention given to college football has made the NFL draft into a made-for-TV event. Baseball's draft flies way below the radar. The NBA sometimes is a parade of youngsters and foreign players, while the best-known college stars go undrafted.  Why fix something that isn't broken?

"You won't see high school players going straight to the NFL, I'm telling you that right now,'' Oklahoma linebacker Teddy Lehman said. "The NFL is for grown men. It's harder than you think. There are a lot of great college players who never make it in the NFL. 

"Everybody is so much bigger and so much faster, too. In college, it's hard to come across a lineman that weighs 350 pounds. In the NFL, every team has five linemen like that. I can't see making the transition for a young kid. It's so much like a job. And you may not have a job next week, then what will you do for the rest of your life? Truthfully, I wouldn't want to give up any of the time I spent with my teammates in college. Once you lose that, you lose it for the rest of your life.''

Iowa senior offensive tackle Robert Gallery could have entered the draft last season, perhaps going in the mid-first round. He opted for a return and now may be a top-five pick.

"The (NFL) rule is a good one,'' Gallery said. "You're not going to jump from high school to the NFL. Maybe you'll find a guy every hundred years or so who could do that.

"Even saying that, if they open the door, a lot more guys will jump in the future. I'm not saying it's the right thing to do. But some guys are just going to jump. For me, it was best to stay. No question.''

Gallery's decision was saluted by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.

"There's a misconception that just because a young man has made the NFL (roster), that was the right decision to come out,'' Stoops said. "Robert Gallery doubled his money. Staying in school helped him make money. You can't believe all the agents that say take the money and run. Fifty percent of that league (NFL) is recycled and out of the league in three years. Which 50 percent? After the third round. They get another young guy in there to do your job and they pay him less money.

"I just don't think it will be much of a problem for the colleges (if Clarett wins the ruling). So many of these guys aren't in nearly as good a position as they think. The NFL isn't going to take three or four years to develop a guy until he's ready. He'll be beat up and done by the time he's ready to play, unlike a sport like basketball.''

What might happen is a gradual erosion in the college ranks. The players who leave as juniors might start leaving as sophomores (or freshmen). A player might not be ready out of high school, but if he dominates as a freshman, what's holding him back.

"If they're ready, if their bodies are ready, let them go, I say,'' Michigan senior running back Chris Perry said. "A great case is Larry (Fitzgerald). Mike Williams (wide receiver from USC), he's another one who would be ready, I think. There are some guys who are men among boys. Not a lot. But there are some. We don't hold back guys in other sports from their opportunities, do we?''

True.

Sometimes, though, there's a larger picture. USC coach Pete Carroll, formerly of the NFL, is wary about the potential implications of Clarett's case.

"Somebody is going to challenge it because that's America,'' Carroll said. "But it isn't time to open the floodgates. College is a great time in life. You don't want to throw that away.

"Anybody who has been in an NFL locker room knows that's not a place for a young kid. Heck, it's a hard enough place at age 22 or 23. The NFL understands that and they don't want young guys in there, doing damage to themselves, physically and mentally. It's a business. It's harder than heck. Anybody who thinks they are ready, ahead of their time, might have another thing coming to them.''

Including Maurice Clarett. He is the test case. By April, he could be drafted.

It may take years to see if there are dramatic implications on the college game. I don't see great change -- with the exception of the truly elite athletes and those who never would be college material.  The NFL can be an unforgiving world. What could it mean if that world is opened to a different age group? We might be about to find out.

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