Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Michael Thomas (3) is tackled by diving Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Nick Watkins in the second half during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The mass exodus of talent at Ohio State continued Tuesday when wide receiver Michael Thomas became the eighth Buckeyes player to declare for early entry into the 2016 NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Thomas is a reshirt junior who led the team in receptions with 56 for 781 yards and touchdown catches with nine last season. During the 2014 season when Ohio State won the College Football Playoff national championship, Thomas caught 54 passes for 799 yards and nine touchdowns.
Thomas is listed as the No. 3 wide receiver prospect for 2016 by NFLDraftScout.com and No. 33 overall.
Since Ohio State’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 1, defensive end Joey Bosa, running back Ezekiel Elliott, backup quarterback Cardale Jones, linebacker Darron Lee, safety Tyvis Powell, cornerback Eli Apple, wide receiver Jalin Marshall and Thomas have declared their intentions to enter the draft. Junior safety Vonn Bell has yet to announce his plans for next year, but he could make it nine Buckeyes leaving for the draft with eligibility remaining.
—Jim Thorpe Award winner Desmond King decided to forgo the 2016 NFL Draft despite being projected as a first-round pick and return for his senior season at Iowa next fall.
The junior cornerback was ranked No. 4 at his position and the No. 28 prospect overall by NFLDraftScout.com. Senior analysts Rob Rang and Dane Brugler had slotted King as going in the first round of this year’s draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
King was a consensus All-American this season and first-team All-Big Ten in addition to winning the Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive back. He tied an Iowa record with eight interceptions in 2015.
—Two-time All-America defensive back Jalen Ramsey is leaving Florida State to enter the NFL Draft after his junior season.
0
Ramsey started all 41 games during his career and totaled three interceptions, 18 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 23 pass breakups. He is the top-ranked cornerback in the 2016 class by NFLDraftScout.com and the No. 3 prospect overall.
During the 2015 season, Ramsey finished with 52 tackles and 10 pass breakups. The previous year, he had 79 tackles and two interceptions.
—Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves officially announced he will forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
The third-rated cornerback and No. 14-rated prospect overall by NFLDraftScout.com, Hargreaves is a potential top 10 pick who is expected to jockey for position with fellow underclassmen cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey from Florida State and Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander, a redshirt sophomore who may declare for the draft after the national title game next week.
Hargreaves was Florida’s first consensus All-American cornerback this season since Joe Jaden in 2010. He tied for the team lead with four interceptions, building on a strong resume that included starting 10 games as a freshman while earning first-team All-SEC honors and improving as a sophomore.
—Quarterback Austin Appleby received his undergraduate degree at Purdue in December and plans to transfer to Florida for his final season of college football.
Appleby, who lost the starting job to David Blough last season as a junior, will be eligible to play next season for the Gators. Appleby played in five games in 2015 and passed for 1,260 yards and eight touchdowns with eight interceptions.
At Florida next fall, Appleby will have a chance to win the starting job after Will Grier transferred and Treon Harris struggled this season.
—LSU senior tight end Dillon Gordon required hospitalization for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries early Tuesday after being stabbed in a bar fight.
Gordon, awaiting NCAA approval for a fifth year of eligibility after missing the final nine games of the season with an Achilles injury, started 28 career games.
The Baton Rouge Police Department said Gordon was stabbed multiple times but did not have a suspect as of Tuesday morning.
—Oregon wide receiver Bralon Addison announced he will forgo his senior season of eligibility to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
Addison, the No. 17-rated draft-eligible receiver by NFLDraftScout.com projected as a mid-round pick, led Oregon with 63 catches for 804 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015.
He had 890 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore in 2013 before missing the following season with a torn ACL suffered during spring practice.
—Texas-San Antonio’s first and only coach is out of a job. Larry Coker, who was hired in 2009 to start the program from scratch and lead it into major college football, stepped down.
The 67-year-old Coker directed the Roadrunners to a 26-32 record in five seasons. The team’s best finishes were 8-4 in 2012 and 7-5 in 2013, but it was not selected for a bowl either year. In 2015, UTSA wound up with a 3-9 record and finished next to least in the Conference USA West Division.
Coker, a former University of Miami coach who won a national championship with the Hurricanes, took the UTSA job before there was a player on the roster, football facilites were in place or the team had a schedule. He spent two years getting the Roadrunners ready to play their first game in 2011.
—Eric Hyman stepped down as Texas A&M’s athletic director after three years in the job.
Hyman took over leadership of the Aggies’ athletic program in 2012 after leaving South Carolina.
Hyman’s decision came after he expressed support a day earlier for football coach Kevin Sumlin, who is under pressure after his program has struggled the past few years.
—Former Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen intends to transfer to Houston.
The Houston Chronicle first reported Allen’s decision, the same day his backup at A&M, Kyler Murray, chose to transfer to Oklahoma.
Allen came to Texas A&M as a five-star prospect but like former Aggies starter Kenny Hill, opted not to stick with the program. He was the No. 1 pro-style quarterback coming out of high school and went 16-9 as a starter at A&M.
In two seasons, Allen passed for 3,532 yards, with 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
