NFL Next For Ball?

MADISON -- Wisconsin running back Montee Ball's record-breaking season has left him with a big choice to make once it's all over after the Badgers play Oregon in the Rose Bowl. With his NFL draft stock soaring, Ball will need to decide whether to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and enter the NFL draft, or to stay at Wisconsin for his senior season.

Ball is generally regarded as one of the better running backs among NFL draft analysts, behind Alabama back and fellow Heisman finalist Trent Richardson. And after Ball was announced as a Heisman finalist, he told reporters that he'd seek an opinion from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, and make a decision about his future from there.

But what would it take for Ball to move on to greener pastures in the NFL?

"Obviously I'd love to hear first round," Ball told Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I'd love to hear even late second. But third or four I'd most likely stay."

For now, Ball and his teammates will prepare to face Oregon in the 98th Rose Bowl game, but decision time is closing in fast. So, will Ball jump to the NFL a year early like his former teammate John Clay after the 2010 season? Or will he stay for a final year at Wisconsin, and try to build on an already impressive college career? Only time will tell.