With the deadline to officially declare for this spring’s NFL draft today, several Tigers have made decisions concerning their football futures.Defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois is going pro, according to LSU coach Les Miles, and so is receiver Brandon LaFell, according to ESPN. And both running back Charles Scott and offensive lineman Ciron Black announced they would be returning for their senior seasons in a Wednesday afternoon press conference.Michael Bonnette, LSU sports information director, confirmed Wednesday that quarterback Andrew Hatch will transfer from LSU.LaFell finished the season as the No. 2 receiver in the Southeastern Conference with 63 catches for 929 yards and eight touchdowns. But so far he has only had a year and a half of solid production while at LSU.Throughout a large part of the 2007 season, LaFell was commonly referred to, in my circle of friends, as “LaDrop” because of his inability to hold onto the football.Despite those issues, he still pieced together a nice sophomore campaign with more than 600 yards receiving and four touchdowns.But LaFell’s stats aren’t the only thing that have NFL teams clamoring for his services. He’ll most likely be a first-day pick based on his measurables alone if he declares. LSU lists him at 6-foot-3 inches and 210 pounds — a decisive size advantage when compared to most of his contemporaries.If he has a pretty good showing at the combine, meaning he has a vertical jump around 37 inches and runs a sub 4.5 second 40-yard dash, he could sneak into the first round.The only safe bets to be taken before him at his position are Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin and possibly Florida’s Percy Harvin, if he goes to the draft.The other Tiger to go pro early probably made a terrible decision unless there are other factors at play.Speculation has risen that Jean-Francois is only going pro to avoid the academic issues that forced him to miss most of the 2007 season.Jean-Francois finished this season with 20 total tackles and two sacks, but battled injuries all season.He also had a very timely block of a field goal attempt in the Alabama game that forced the game into overtime.Jean-Francois will be a mid-round decision in April and could be a steal for an NFL team. He brings decent speed for his size and can play either defensive end or defensive tackle.But one has to think the rumors may be true. Otherwise, why would a guy pass up a chance to increase his draft stock exponentially to settle for fourth-round money?The two returning players probably both made good decisions in coming back for another year.Scott is NFL ready — there’s no doubt in my mind. But with all the other backs coming out this season, he would not have been as high of a pick as he will next season.Backs like Ohio State’s Chris Wells, Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno and Pittsburgh’s LeSean McCoy among others will likely be drafted ahead of him.His 2008 campaign of 1,174 yards on 217 carries will definitely put him as one of — if not the best — returning running backs in the country.He will be a first round pick if he can find a way to maintain his success for another season in the purple and gold.Black also stands to increase his stock with another successful season.He’s big and he can block well — the two tenets of a great offensive tackle.There won’t be many linemen to have better 2009 seasons than him. That’s a guarantee. He made himself some millions by not going early.—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]