A record 73 underclassmen, including South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore and Ace Sanders, were approved for the NFL draft on Saturday.

That number was eight more than last year.

Six All-Americans were safety Matt Elam of Florida, tight end Zach Ertz of Stanford, tackle Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M, defensive end Bjoern Werner of Florida State, linebacker Jarvis Jones of Georgia and cornerback Dee Milliner of national champion Alabama.

Only Elam is not projected as a high first-round pick, but all six easily could go in the opening round on April 25.

Also approved was former LSU cornerback-kick returner Tyrann Mathieu, a 2011 All-American. Mathieu, a one-time Heisman Trophy finalist, was dismissed from the team in August after reportedly failing a drug test.

Louisiana State lost a whopping 11 players, including Mathieu. Next were Florida State, Tennessee and Florida, each with four. Michigan State, Stanford, Georgia and Oklahoma each lost three players.

Alabama saw Milliner and running back Eddie Lacy enter the draft.

In all, 38 schools lost players early.

Also leaving school and projected to go high in the draft: LSU DEs Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery; Texas A&M DE Damontre Moore; Georgia LB Alec Ogletree; California WR Keenan Allen; Florida State CB Xavier Rhodes; Ohio State DT Johnathan Hankins; and LSU linebacker Kevin Minter.

Other All-Americans entering early were second-teamers Moore, Hankins, Minter, WR Stedman Bailey of West Virginia, safeties Tony Jefferson of Oklahoma and Eric Reid of LSU. Third-teamers were Montgomery, RBs Giovani Bernard of North Carolina and Stefphon Jefferson of Nevada, WR DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson, and DT Sharif Floyd of Florida.

Only one quarterback, Tyler Bray of Tennessee, applied early for the NFL.

In the last 10 years, the number of early entrants has risen from 43 to 73.

A player must have been eligible to play in college for three years before he can enter the draft. He must petition the NFL in writing and renounce his college eligibility.

The approved players are:

Number Player Pos. College

1 David Amerson DB North Carolina State

2 Alvin Bailey G Arkansas

3 Stedman Bailey WR West Virginia

4 David Bakhtiari T Colorado

5 Dwayne Beckford LB Purdue

6 Le'Veon Bell RB Michigan State

7 Giovani Bernard RB North Carolina

8 Tyler Bray QB Tennessee

9 Terrence Brown DB Stanford

10 Duron Carter WR Ohio State

11 Knile Davis RB Arkansas

12 Mike Edwards DB Hawaii

13 Matt Elam DB Florida

14 Zach Ertz TE Stanford

15 Gavin Escobar TE San Diego State

16 Chris Faulk T Louisiana State

17 Sharrif Floyd DT Florida

18 Michael Ford RB Louisiana State

19 Travis Frederick C Wisconsin

20 Kwame Geathers NT Georgia

21 William Gholston DE Michigan State

22 Johnathan Hankins DT Ohio State

23 Jajuan Harley DB Middle Tennessee

24 Hopkins, DeAndre WR Clemson

25 Justin Hunter WR Tennessee

26 Jawan Jamison RB Rutgers

27 Stefphon Jefferson RB Nevada

28 Tony Jefferson DB Oklahoma

29 Jelani Jenkins LB Florida

30 Luke Joeckel T Texas A&M

31 Jarvis Jones LB Georgia

32 Jose Jose DT Central Florida

33 Joe Kruger DE Utah

34 Eddie Lacy RB Alabama

35 Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina

36 Corey Lemonier DE Auburn

37 Bennie Logan DT Louisiana State

38 Stansly Maponga DE Texas Christian

39 Tyrann Mathieu DB Louisiana State

40 Dee Milliner DB Alabama

41 Barkevious Mingo DE Louisiana State

42 Kevin Minter LB Louisiana State

43 Sam Montgomery DE Louisiana State

44 Brandon Moore DT Texas

45 Damontre Moore DE Texas A&M

46 Alec Ogletree LB Georgia

47 Cordarrelle Patterson WR Tennessee

48 Bradley Randle RB Nevada-Las Vegas

49 Joseph Randle RB Oklahoma State

50 Jordan Reed TE Florida

51 Eric Reid DB Louisiana State

52 Greg Reid DB Florida State

53 Xavier Rhodes DB Florida State

54 Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri

55 Nickell Robey DB Southern California

56 Logan Ryan DB Rutgers

57 Ace Sanders WR South Carolina

58 Darrington Sentimore DT Tennessee

59 Tharold Simon DB Louisiana State

60 Dion Sims TE Michigan State

61 Akeem Spence DT Illinois

62 Kenny Stills WR Oklahoma

63 Levine Toilolo TE Stanford

64 Spencer Ware RB Louisiana State

65 Menelik Watson T Florida State

66 Bjoern Werner DE Florida State

67 Steve Williams DB California

68 Marquess Wilson WR Washington State

69 Brad Wing P Louisiana State

70 Cierre Wood RB Notre Dame

71 Robert Woods WR Southern California

72 Tom Wort LB Oklahoma

73 Keenan Allen WR California