I really don't think this report says much of anything one way or the other, but nevertheless I'll address it. Per the Tuscaloosa News:
Julio Jones and Marcell Dareus have taken steps toward declaring early eligibility for the National Football League draft, sources have told The Tuscaloosa News.Jones and Dareus are two of three University of Alabama juniors, along with Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram, projected as first-round draft picks should they choose to make themselves eligible. An announcement could come as early as Friday.
By all means go and read the whole thing, but again I really don't think this is much of anything for the time being. Basically, Goodbread is just reporting that Dareus and Jones have had some interviews with agents and financial advisors, but that in and of itself does not impact their collegiate eligibility. Their collegiate eligibility would only be impacted if they received benefits or reached an agreement, and nothing we have now indicates that any of that has happened yet. All we know is that they have sought some advice from agents and financial advisors, but honestly any player in their position would likely do that regardless of whether or not they ultimately decided to leave early.
As was the case last night, I think we all know what the end-game here is, all three will probably declare for the NFL Draft in the coming days. All three have received first round grades, and both Ingram and Dareus are effective locks to leave early. There may be some glimmer of hope for Julio Jones, but even that I imagine is quite slim, and he'll probably be gone as well. We all know how it's going to end up, but once again tonight we really do not have any official confirmation of anything. We'll update when there is something definitive, and for whatever reason there does seem to be a lot of buzz about Friday, but for now that time has not yet come to pass.