The first round of the 2009 NFL draft will hinge on the decisions made by the juniors and redshirt sophomores who star inside SEC stadiums every Saturday. Ten of the nation’s top 30 NFL prospects ranked by Scouts Inc. play in the Southeastern Conference. Nine are underclassmen.

“There are some good juniors in this league,” an AFC scout said. “There always are. They will impact this draft for sure.”

A potential NFL rookie salary cap, which cannot be enforced before 2010, might hasten the departures of several star SEC juniors. Here is a look at nine of the prospects, including position rankings among underclassmen by Mel Kiper Jr. and overall rankings, regardless of class, by Scouts Inc. Analysis is provided by an NFL scout and Mike Detillier, who owns and operates his own scouting service.

PERCY HARVIN

Florida

Junior, wide receiver

Kiper position rank: No. 4

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 27

Analyst’s take: “He’ll be like Ted Ginn Jr. coming out of Ohio State. He isn’t very big and he’s had some injury problems. I call guys like him stretch receivers, like DeSean Jackson. He’ll be a big addition because of his return skills. Remember, Devin Hester changed the world. Harvin will be a first-rounder if he comes out, but he won’t go 10th like Ted Ginn Jr. Harvin is like a wide receiver version of Reggie Bush.”

BRANDON SPIKES

Florida

Junior, linebacker

Kiper position rank: No. 1

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 30

Analyst’s take: “He’s a man. He’ll measure a little less than 6-foot-3 and he’ll be 245 pounds. He’s a big man who can run, he’s got great lateral speed and he can drop back very well in pass coverage. He’s got all the skills. He reminds me a lot of Takeo Spikes (not related) when he came out of Auburn in that he’s a big, physical guy and he can run. (Southern Cal linebacker) Keith Rivers went No. 9 last year. I’ve seen both and Brandon Spikes is a better player than Keith Rivers.”

ANDRE SMITH

Alabama

Junior, left tackle

Kiper position rank: No. 1

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 1

Analyst’s take: “If he declared tomorrow, he would be the top-rated player on my board. He looks like Willie Roaf to me. He’s light on his feet. He’s a little heavy like Roaf was, but if he controls his weight let’s see what that guy can do. Andre Smith and (Ole Miss senior) Michael Oher are the best tackles in college football. There’s a reason Alabama runs to the left, I believe, 64.5 percent of the time.”

TerRence cody

Alabama

Junior, defensive tackle

Kiper position rank: No. 1

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 14

Scout’s take: “I think Terrence Cody would be making a gigantic mistake coming out early. He has gotten a lot of national publicity, but he is a two-down and maybe a one-down lineman in the NFL. He’s 370 pounds and has rarely been below 400 in his life, so he has the potential to be 405 next month. I think a lot of teams are going to look at that weight history and think he’s a big risk.

“He only fits about nine teams in the NFL that run that 3-4 defense, so I think he would be making a gigantic mistake. There are 23 teams who will have no interest in him whatsoever.

“I think he’s going to be a third-round pick. I know Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have put him up higher, and I think they did that kid a disservice by doing that. The kid is probably thinking he’s first-round pick, and he’s not even close.”

D.J. MOORE

Vanderbilt

Junior, cornerback

Kiper position rank: No. 2

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 36

Analyst’s take: “The most underrated player in college football. He’s played corner, he’s played free safety, he’s returned kicks and he’s played receiver. Man, he’s got all the skills. Great athlete. When he works out for the NFL guys, he’ll blow up in the same manner as (Tennessee linebacker) Jerod Mayo last year. People didn’t realize how good Mayo was until he worked out. D.J. Moore is around the ball like magnet and he plays the ball as if he’s the receiver. If he said he was coming out, it wouldn’t be a big story for most people outside of Tennessee. It would be for the NFL people.”

GREG HARDY

Ole Miss

Junior, defensive end

Kiper position rank: No. 2

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 25

Analyst’s take: “First of all, in his defense, that stress fracture in his foot has bothered him all year. But yeah, and I know people close to him, he’s one of these guys that has to be handled just right. He’s got the best natural pass-rushing skills of anybody in the country. Sometimes, he doesn’t show up to play. His personality is similar to Charles Haley. Great football player but has to be handled in a certain way to get the best out of him. He’s not going to be a real high graduate of the Dale Carnegie School. He doesn’t work well with others sometimes. Someone will think they can change him, but he’s not assured of a first-round pick.”

CIRON BLACK

LSU

Junior, left tackle

Kiper position rank: No. 2

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 38

Scout’s take: “I would anticipate Ciron Black coming out. He’s a very good athlete who’s definitely a second-rounder but probably a first.”

TIM TEBOW

Florida

Junior, quarterback

Kiper position rank: Not ranked

Scouts Inc. rank: Not ranked

Scout’s take: “I know some scouts who think Tim Tebow can’t play quarterback in the NFL. I’m not one of those, but I know some guys who would move him to H-Back, which is crazy, but he will have to relearn the entire quarterback position to play in the NFL because he’s never taken snaps under center on a consistent basis.

“I would advise him to come back. He’s hero at Florida, so who wouldn’t want to go back to Gainesville for another year? I don’t think it’s going to get any better for him, because they’re going to run that same offense next year, but he could work on some things in the offseason so he could go into an all-star game and already have that feel of some five- and seven-step drops and that type of thing.”

SEN’DERRICK MARKS

Auburn

Junior, defensive tackle

Kiper position rank: No. 3

Scouts Inc. rank: No. 18

Analyst’s take: “I talked to some LSU guys after they played Auburn, and they made the comment that he’s like Glenn Dorsey. He hasn’t put up the numbers like Dorsey, but he’s a very, very effective player in the middle who can push the inside pocket, not just stop the run. He always comes to play. I think the world of him. I think he’ll fit better against an NFL scheme.”