NFL Draft to Admit College Underclassmen : Pro football: Those players eligible for selection this April must have enrolled in college for the 1987 fall semester.

The NFL took a seemingly inevitable step Friday, becoming the last professional league to admit college underclassmen and making the April 22 draft one of the strongest in a decade.

Under the new policy, announced by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, any underclassman who wants to enter this year’s draft must have enrolled in college for the 1987 fall semester, meaning that juniors or sophomores who have missed one season would be eligible.

That could mean an influx of perhaps 40 good pro prospects, although how good is questionable.

“Drafting isn’t exactly an exact science,” said Dick Steinberg, general manager of the New York Jets, who noted that linebackers Keith McCants of Alabama and Junior Seau of USC, both of whom have applied, have only one full year as starters in college.

Still, McCants is expected to be the first player taken when Atlanta makes its choice. Seau and running back Emmitt Smith of Florida, both of whom have announced their intention to apply for the draft, also could go in the top 10, as could quarterbacks Jeff George of Illinois and Andre Ware of Houston, who have yet to say what they will do.

To be eligible, a player must apply by March 22 and accompany the application with an affidavit that irrevocably renounces his remaining collegiate eligibility.

Moreover, the new league policy eliminates use of the supplemental draft, the route taken by players such as Brian Bosworth and Timm Rosenbach in recent years. Now only players who graduate or drop out of school after the regular draft will be allowed in.

In recent years, all underclassmen who have applied for the draft have been accepted because the NFL didn’t want to test its policies in court. During that period, Tagliabue was the chief legal adviser to former commissioner Pete Rozelle.