Terp wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey will bypass his senior season to enter the NFL Draft, he announced today.
Heyward-Bey, an honorable mention All-ACC selection this season, declined to make his possible jump to the NFL a story throughout the season despite speculation that this would be his last in a Terp uniform. But with the January 15 decision deadline looming, Heyward-Bey announced his decision in an afternoon conference call.
“After talking to my mom and Coach [Ralph] Friedgen, we kind of came together and decided that was the best decision for me to make right now in my life,” Heyward-Bey said.
The speedster finished the season with 42 receptions for 609 yards and five receiving touchdowns, all team highs. He also rushed 15 times for 202 yards and a score.
Heyward-Bey’s junior season was marked with the inconsistency that plagued the Terps throughout the season. He found the endzone in the Terps’ first four games before scoring just two touchdowns in the last nine games, including two appearances in which he failed to record a catch. The fourth-year player missed the team’s season-ending loss at Boston College with a calf injury before returning for the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 30.
However, his combination of speed and size should make him an attractive draft candidate despite lacking the numbers of some underclassmen who have already declared, such as North Carolina’s Hakeem Nicks and Rutgers’ Kenny Britt.
Heyward-Bey said his decision was not based on the choices of other players across the nation. He declined to get into the specific feedback coach Ralph Friedgen had gathered since the Terps’ season wrapped up with a Humanitarian Bowl win. But he said he was satisfied with what he heard.
“If it wasn’t positive, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” said Heyward-Bey, who will not be enrolled in classes this semester as he prepares for the Draft but hopes to get his diploma in the near future.
Friedgen, whose team must replace its top two wide receivers in Heyward-Bey and graduating senior Danny Oquendo going into next season, said the decision was not taken lightly by the receiver he views as having the most potential of any he has coached.
“[Heyward-Bey]’s done it the right way,” Friedgen said. “And obviously, I feel like it’s the best thing for him. He has my blessing.”
January 15 is the deadline for underclassmen to enter their names for the April 25-26 draft. He is the second Terp in as many seasons to forego his senior season. Linebacker Erin Henderson declared after last season and was not selected in the 2008 NFL Draft.
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Tags: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ralph Friedgen, Terp football, Terrapins