College Football

Spence leads early NFL draft group

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:41 a.m. ET

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(STATS) - Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence headlined the list of FCS hopefuls when the NFL announced its early entries into the 2016 NFL draft on Friday.

Spence, who as a redshirt junior was named the Ohio Valley Co-Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in the voting for the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year, was one of 11 players to have completed the necessary coursework to graduate before their eligibility had expired.

A former Ohio State player, Spence is considered by many scouts as a first- or second-round prospect.

Delaware punter Eric Enderson also was part of the same group as Spence.

Among the 96 players who had met the NFL's three-year post-high school requirement and were granted entry into the draft were Bethune-Cookman offensive guard Dariusz Bladek, Duquesne defensive back Trenton Coles, Murray State defensive tackle Elijah Daniel and Northern Iowa linebacker Brett McMakin.

Montana wide receiver Ellis Henderson had announced last week his intentions to declare for the draft, but he was not on the NFL list Friday.