By Robert H. KellyAUSTIN, TEXAS (January 2, 2007) KXAN, the NBC affiliate in Austin, has reported that University of Texas running back Jamaal Charles has decided to leave the Longhorns to enter the NFL draft. Charles, a junior, this season rushed for 1,619 yards this season.
I feel his is a bad choice by Jamaal. He will be at best a 3rd round pick. There are too many good backs ahead of him (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Jonathon Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Allen Patrick, Mike Hart, Kevin Smith, Steve Slaton, Ray Rice, James Davis). Come draft day, we will see how high he goes. It might have been better for him to stay at Texas for one more year.
Below is a clip from their website:
Charles joined Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell and Cedric Benson as the only Longhorns rush for over 1,500 yards in a season.
Charles had 161 yards and two touchdowns in UT's Holiday Bowl win over Arizona State.
The Longhorns finished 10-3.
Charles had a career-high 290 yards in a 28-25 win over Nebraska. He had 216 yards and three long touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
"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 wouldn¹t 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."
UT Wednesday also announced that assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff, who spent one season on Coach Mack Brown's staff, is leaving.
"Larry and I met this morning and he informed me that he is not returning for the 2008 season, citing philosophical differences," Brown said. "Larry is a great coach and man and we appreciate all he's done for our program. We want to wish him luck in the future and will begin looking for a replacement immediately."
Mac Duff joined the Texas staff after spending four seasons with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
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