IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
In case there was any confusion, Penn State's Maurice Evans has officially declared for the NFL Draft. The junior defensive end had until yesterday to inform all pertinent parties that he was leaving college a year early. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson confirmed this last night and the team, through Director of Football Branding Guido D'Elia, announced he was gone today.
I'm not sure if Evans has hired an agent, though. If he refrains from accepting the services of a representative for 48 hours after declaring, he can rescind his decision and return to Penn State. I doubt if that's going to happen. According to many of the people I've spoken to, Evans is committed to leaving. In fact, I think he was gone before the season, even after the marijuana bust.
I'm not so sure it was the wisest move. Teams are really shying away from those types of transgressions and it wasn't like Evans blew everyone away with his play on the field last fall. I do think there is a lot of potential there. He's got the perfect build for an NFL defensive end and showed he had the motor as a sophomore.
On other note, I spoke to former Penn State defensive tackle Chris Baker and he's leaving college early, too. Baker tore it up at Hampton this past season and was a Division I-AA all-American. Some draft boards have him as high as a second round pick. Baker said the draft advisory committee gave him a fourth round grade.
Joe McIntyre is a senior at Penn State majoring in journalism. He covered the Penn State football beat in 2011 for the Daily Collegian. Follow him on Twitter here @JoeMcIntyre5.
