Tailback Shyrone Stith and cornerback Ike Charlton were among 26 players passing up a final year of college eligibility for the NFL.

	Draft-eligible underclassmen
	Player	Pos.	School
	LaVar Arrington	LB	Penn State
	Rodregis Brooks	CB	UAB
	Plaxico Burress	WR	Michigan St.
	Kwame Cavil	WR	Texas
	Ike Charlton	DB	Virginia Tech
	Cosey Coleman	G	Tennessee
	Patrick Dennis	DB	La.-Monroe
	Na'il Diggs	LB	Ohio St.
	Jeffrey Dunlap	DT	Auburn
	Shaun Ellis	DE	Tennessee
	Daniel Franks	TE	Miami (Fla.)
	Deon Grant	DB	Tennessee
	Bud Herring	LB	Louisville
	Jonathan Gray	OL	Texas Tech
	Darrell Jackson	WR	Florida
	Keith Jackson	DT	Cheyney
	Sebastian Janikowski	K	Florida St.
	Ronney Jenkins	RB	N. Arizona
	Ben Kelly	CB	Colorado
	Jamal Lewis	RB	Tennessee
	Tariq McDonald	WR	Arizona St.
	Lewis Sanders	CB	Maryland
	Jacoby Shepherd	DB	Oklahoma St.
	Marvel Smith	T	Arizona St.
	Shyrone Stith	RB	Virginia Tech
	Travis Taylor	WR	Florida
	Hubert Thompson	DE	Michigan St.
	Raynoch Thompson	LB	Tennessee
	Dez White	WR	Ga. Tech

Others on the list released by the NFL include linebacker LaVar Arrington (Penn State); kicker Sebastian Janikowski (Florida State); guard Cosey Coleman (Tennessee); and wide receivers Plaxico Burress (Michigan State), Kwame Cavil (Texas); and Dez White (Georgia Tech).

The NFL draft is April 15-16.

The Volunteers had the most players on the NFL's special eligibility list with three -- tailback Jamal Lewis and defensive back Deon Grant joined Coleman.

Two other Vols -- linebacker Raynoch Thompson and defensive end Shaun Ellis -- are expected to be on the final list before the draft. Both could have returned to school as partial qualifiers but have elected to turn pro.

Last season, the final underclassmen list totaled 42 after originally being released with 35 names. The NFL also considers special cases and rules on them just before the draft.

The Seminoles, 46-29 winners over the Hokies in last week's Sugar Bowl, lost college football's best kicker in Janikowski, but will have 27-year-old quarterback Chris Weinke for another season.

Weinke, projected as a third-round pick and aware he'd end up on an NFL team's bench, opted for another title chase in Tallahassee.

"I want to play in as many games as possible," said Weinke, who threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns in the Sugar Bowl. "I don't want to sit on the bench making the minimum watching Florida State on Saturdays play on TV."

Weinke, along with returning quarterbacks Drew Brees of Purdue and Michael Vick of Virginia Tech, should start the 2000 season among the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy.

There were no underclassmen quarterbacks on the list. Among the top quarterback prospects for the draft are Chad Pennington of Marshall, Chris Redman of Louisville and Tim Rattay of Louisiana Tech.

The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Stith, Tech's 1,000-yard rusher, was one of three underclassmen running backs on the list. The others were Ronney Jenkins of Northern Arizona and the Vols' Lewis.

The senior running back class features Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne of Wisconsin, Thomas Jones of Virginia and Shaun Alexander of Alabama.

Charlton, a 6-0, 203-pound cornerback, also showed his talent as a punt returner in the Sugar Bowl. He returned one 46 yards to set up a third-quarter TD.

Charlton's early departure was expected; Stith's wasn't so certain.

"I told Shyrone all along that if it looked like he'd go in the first or second (round), `You don't have to ask, I'll boot you out of here,"' Tech assistant Billy Hite said.

Six wide receivers were on the early entries list: Burress, Cavil, White, Tariq McDonald of Arizona State and Darrell Jackson and Travis Taylor of Florida.