40 Acres Sports

In a surprising decision, tight end [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] has declared for the 2008 NFL Draft and will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Texas. Only a redshirt sophomore, Finley is eligible for the draft since he has spent three years on campus.

In just two seasons for the Longhorns Jermichael quickly climbed into the UT record books for tight ends. He finishes his brief career third all time in career receptions (76) for the position and sixth in receiving yards (947). Finley finished the 2007 season with an impressive 45 catches for 575 yards.

From the official UT release:

“The NFL is every football player’s dream and when my NFL grade came back, it was encouraging and I felt like it was in my best interest to enter the draft,” Finley said. “I’ve worked really hard for three years at Texas to prepare for this and I think I’m ready for the challenge. Coach Chambers and all of the coaches have helped me improve and taught me so much that I can’t thank them enough.”

“I want to thank Coach Brown for the great opportunity he gave me and everything I learned from him. He’s a great man. Playing at Texas was the experience of a lifetime. Austin, the campus, every one in the football program and the fans have all treated me so well. It’s a first class place and I’ll really miss it. The win in the Holiday Bowl, getting another 10 wins and the team coming together capped off a great experience for me at UT.”

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to help out the younger guys, especially Josh (Marshall) and Blaine (Irby). They’re both great guys and will be great players so I look forward to watching them and all of the Longhorns. The future is bright at Texas and I’ll always be a Longhorn.”

Rumors this weekend were that Finley would be returning next season after reportedly only receiving a fourth or fifth round grade from NFL scouts. Without going into details, Jermichael had to weigh more than just his draft slot when making this decision. Though he might have improved his draft stock by returning for another season, he has apparently deciding that leaving now was ultimately in his best interest.

The mismatches his size and speed created will definitely be missed in next year’s offense. [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] played a good bit this year as a true freshman and looked promising, but with no other highly rated guys on campus or in this year’s recruiting class the position is definitely lacking quality depth. We might see a lot more four wide receiver sets or tight ends pass blocking than we did this year.

Good luck Jermichael.

Lance Zierlein’s first 2008 NFL Mock Draft. I’d love to see Limas Sweed go to the Titans. Great fit.

A&M tight end Martellus Bennett to declare for NFL draft. Not great production but draft is all about potential.

Texas junior running back [tag]Jamaal Charles[/tag] announced today he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.

This isn’t surprising news but it is definitely disappointing. I was looking for a huge season out of Jamaal next year and thought he might break out as a Heisman contender. It looked like he (and just as importantly Greg Davis) had finally figured things out late in the season and he was really tearing it up. Charles finished with 897 yards and 10 touchdowns in the Longhorns’ final five games.

In just three seasons, including two in which he split time with Selvin Young, Charles was able to climb into the top 5 all time in both career rushing and career TDs. His big play ability will be sorely missed next season.

From his official statement:

“I can’t thank Coach Brown, Coach Rucker, everyone at UT and all of the fans enough,” Charles said. “They gave me a great opportunity and supported me so much. UT is a wonderful place and everyone has been so good to me. But playing in the NFL has always been my dream and when the NFL report came back I was happy with the grade and felt like it was best for me to enter the draft.”

“I had fun playing with a lot of great players and winning a bunch of games. I have so many friends at UT and everyone is close, like a family, so it’s really hard to leave. But, after finishing the season strong, I think I’m ready. I’ve worked really hard and the coaches have done a great job preparing me. I had a lot of success this year but I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything if it wasn’t for the great job the offensive line and all of the coaches did. We got better every game and it showed in how we played so I can’t thank them, especially my O-line, enough.”

“Now, it’s my job to get ready for all of the NFL workouts and make everyone proud. I may be going to the NFL but I’ll always be a Longhorn. I’m definitely going to continue working towards my degree. Finishing school is really important to me because I want to have a good life after football.”

Charles’ draft prospects probably couldn’t get much higher than they are now. The NFL Draft is all about potential and forty times and Jamaal is off the charts in both those categories. After Arkansas‘ Darren McFadden this isn’t a particularly deep draft for running backs and in my opinion Charles is easily one of the top five guys available. Depending on team needs and what other underclassmen declare I can’t see him falling further than the middle of the second round.

Looking forward to next year for the Horns, young Vondrell McGee will have to grow up fast. He showed potential this year in limited time but he’s going to be expected to carry the load next year and we haven’t seen enough yet to know if he can do it. Maybe the newly wide open running back depth chart will entice 5-star Darrell Scott to come to Austin and show his stuff?

What round will Jamaal Charles be drafted?

• Second (48%)
• Third (23%)
• First (21%)
• Fourth or later (8%)

Total Votes: 291

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After Holiday Bowl, Jamaal Charles reiterates that he plans to be back next season. I’m sure he believes that now, let’s hope he sticks to it.

Sources say Jamaal Charles & Jermichael Finley file NFL draft paperwork. Doesn’t mean they won’t be back, just that they want to see what the scouts think.

Texas juniors underclassmen [tag]Jermichael Finley[/tag] and [tag]Roy Miller[/tag] both announced at the annual football banquet that they would be returning next year for their senior seasons. I hadn’t really heard much about Miller but there’s been rumors about Finley jumping early almost since the day he stepped on campus.

It’s still a long time before they have to make a final decision and as we saw with Vince things can change in a hurry, but it’s certainly good news that two of the team’s best players plan on being back for 2008.

(Source)

The first two rounds of the NFL Draft will be shorter in 2008. Should make it even more fun to watch.

The San Antonio Express-News has some quick notes on the how the NFL Draft went for teams from the Big 12. Texas had seven players selected including and coming in with the second most was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. And of course Texas A&M had zero, which puts them in some fine company:

The Aggies were one of only eight schools in BCS-affiliated conferences to draw a blank in the draft. Others were Indiana, Northwestern, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas. A&M hasn’t had an offensive player picked in the first round since 1994.

At least for Northwestern, Vandy, UNC, and Duke they can claim they’re academic powerhouses.

CNNSI 2008 mock NFL draft has Limas Sweed as possible top 10 pick. Might depend on what kind of 40 time he can run.