This is supposed to be the biggest day in La’el Collins’ young life.

It is the day when all his hard work pays off.

It is the day all his sweat and blood should be cashed in for mega bucks.

But instead of enjoying the moment, La’el Collins is forced to answer questions from the police.

He left the NFL draft party in Chicago a day early and not for any good reason.

Collins, the LSU offensive lineman who has long expected to hear his name called in today’s first round, now has his future in question.

Collins returned to Baton Rouge for questioning in the shooting death of Brittany Mills, who is believed to be a former girlfriend of the LSU player. Mills, who was pregnant, was killed last week. Police say Collins is not considered a suspect in the case but could be the baby’s father.

According to media reports, her child was delivered at a Baton Rouge hospital and Collins has offered to take a paternity test.

Collins’ attorney said his client was nowhere near the shooting and said they have witnesses to back up that statement and that he is more than willing and ready to help police.

He may well be an innocent party in this mess, but no NFL team wants to have to answer questions about their top pick other than those about his play and where he fits into the club’s future.

That just makes teams nervous, especially with it happening so close to the draft and with so little time for teams to fully investigate. These are people who leave nothing to chance, once even questioning a player about his freshman math grade.

They want nothing but smooth sailing if they can.

“Anything that happens closer to the draft you get a little more alarmed,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday. “You don’t have enough time to look into it.”

Loomis was answering general questions about players who find themselves under the spotlight rather than in it at this time of the year.

This is obviously a much more serious thing than football, but it shows just how fragile professional sports careers can be.

On a day when all the talk should be about the new stars coming into the league, Collins is just one of several first-round hopefuls who could see their stock slide greatly because of off-field issues and perceptions.

Shane Ray is a defensive end/linebacker from Missouri who over the weekend was arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana during a traffic stop for speeding.

Suddenly Ray’s status today is in question, as NFL executives try to get to the bottom of his and other cases.

“You are more concerned about the judgment than the incident,” Loomis said.

His point is well taken. Just days away from becoming millionaires and these players are still taking giant chances with their careers. It points to them either not getting it or just not caring.

Either way it is a giant red flag to teams that are investing millions on these prospects.

Both Collins and Ray could fit nicely in New Orleans. But if the Saints are to take either one, or any of the number of other players who have character questions or possible legal troubles surrounding them, they will have to do much more work in a very short period of time.

“Any incident is concerning,” Loomis said. “We all have experience and reference points you have to go back to.”

So the teams will check and double check and then check some more before finally making a decision, which often comes down to just a hunch anyway.

“There are a lot of sources of information you tap into, but at the end of the day you have to make a judgement,” Loomis said. “We are not relying on one thing, we are collecting a lot of information.”

Collins, Ray and others may go on to have productive lives both on the field and in the cities where they are drafted.

Young people often make mistakes and get put in tough situations that aren’t their doing.

But with so much at stake, even the notion of trouble can cost players millions.

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Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com

(MGNonline)