Jamaal Charles Declares For NFL Draft

by PB @ BON on Jan 2, 2008 4:30 PM CST in Football Comment 8 comments

There's already a lively discussion in the diaries, but if you haven't seen it yet: Jamaal Charles will forego his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. As has been noted in the diary thread, this year's draft class is pretty loaded at running back, which begs the question: is this a smart move?

I'll let the MB-TF official release summarize JC's accomplishments to date:

Charles, who shared UT's team MVP honors with Colt McCoy in 2007, capped his junior season by running for 161 yards and two TDs in the Horns 52-34 win over No. 12 Arizona State in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection rushed for 1,619 yards (No. 5 on the UT single-season list) and 18 TDs (T-No. No. 5 on UT single-season list) on 258 carries (6.2 ypc) in 2007. He also caught 17 passes for 199 yards to record 1,818 yards (No. 5 on the UT single-season list) from scrimmage on the year.

"We appreciate everything Jamaal has done for Texas and want to wish him all of the best," said Mack Brown. "He has been a great player for us and more importantly a tremendous person, student and representative of our program. We thank him, support him and look forward to following his career in the NFL."

A 2007 Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back) semifinalist, Charles finished the year strong, rushing for 897 yards and 10 TDs on 116 carries (7.7 ypc) over the last five games (179.4 ypg). That included a career-high 290-yard (No. 4 on the UT all-time list) and three-TD rushing effort in leading UT to a 28-25 comeback victory over Nebraska. His 216 yards in the fourth quarter of that game were the second-most in a quarter in NCAA history. He also rushed for 180 yards and three TDs and 174 yards and a score in victories over Okahoma State and Texas Tech. His seven 100-yard rushing games on the season are tied for fifth-most on the UT single-season chart.

A three-time All-Big 12 pick and 2005 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, Charles finished his career ranked fourth on the UT all-time rushing list with 3,328 yards, tied for fifth in rushing TDs (36) and ranked fourth in total TDs scored (39). He averaged 20.3 yards per TD run for his career. Charles also caught 49 passes for 539 yards and three TDs to tally 3,867 yards (No. 6 on the UT all-time list) from scrimmage. He had 31 career runs of at least 20 yards.

On-field collegiate accomplishments only help you so much with NFL scouts, however. Professional football scouting is mostly a matter of subjective observation combined with raw numbers testing. How high can you jump? How fast can you run 10, 40, 100 yards? Can you juggle while you zig zag through cones?

Though there are more accomplished tailbacks entering the 2008 NFL Draft with Charles, there won't be many who test out better. Darren McFadden is a lock for one of the top couple picks, but the rest of the group - though accomplished - probably won't test out as well as JC. As well as Charles played in the second half of this season, there's a real possibility that his stock is at its all-time high. When you factor in the risk of injury, leaving now is easily justifiable, if not flat out the right thing to do. As much as we fans live for the burnt orange and white, many of these kids intend to make a career out of the game. Sometimes, you gotta make a business decision, whether you want to return or not.

So that's that. Charles leaves a national champion and one of the most exciting Longhorn tailbacks ever to play in Austin. The offense takes a big hit as Texas looks for its next great tailback. Is Vondrell McGee ready to take a big step forward? Can Cody Johnson or Fozzy Whittaker play important roles as redshirt freshmen? Does Charles' departure give Texas a better shot at Darrell Scott?

The offseason is upon us. What a start...

--PB--

0 recs | Comment 8 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Reload

We lost a good bullet, but we have McGee and probably Scott to replace him. IMO losing JC does not really affect the team that greatly. Maybe I'm just overrating the RB's next in line. I like the power with Oggy and the speed with McGee. Plus, the added speed with Chiles certainly getting more time.

Running the zone read with Chiles is going to work with or without Charles.

by goingforthecorner on Jan 2, 2008 4:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

this

is good and bad. maybe this will help us get scott. without a doubt it will help us in 09

by Hook'em13 on Jan 2, 2008 5:05 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Agree with both of the forgoing...

...for the most part. The loss of JC is huge but with what will be a more experienced and hopefully better Oline we can be reasonably confident in the running game. The need for a deep threat would certainly seem to be the most accute problem.

The possibility of 200O yard, 7+YPC, 20+ TD season was certainly tempting and establishing himself as bonafide every down back could have elevated JC's stock considerably but the risk of injury is always there. PB is right that he will test out well and the business aspect of the decision is by no means clear cut. Not thirlled with this but wish JC the best.

marshalld

by duras on Jan 2, 2008 8:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

im going to miss his 86 yard runs

The best thing about watching this team was knowing that any play jamaal could break one. Best of luck to him in the NFL, he is going to be just as fun to watch on sundays

by blazzinken on Jan 2, 2008 10:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I wish JC well, of course, but

I am frankly surprised at his decision. He still has much too learn; while he is certainly a good player, he only started solidifying the latter part of this season. I'm still not comfortable with his ability to hang on to the ball, and admit to feeling that his own doubts would have served to keep him in college his senior year. . .where he COULD have emerged as one of the all-time greats!

He may not be drafted as high as he thinks, and I have a hunch he'll be playing at wide receiver before he'll be in the backfield.

But that's just one man's opinion.

If you keep doin' what you're doin', you'll keep gettin' what you're gettin'.

by cabalnamedclyde on Jan 2, 2008 11:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Charles

I think Charles is smart to leave now when thinking about injury. I'm not so sure he will do well in the NFL. He may test well but don't you think teams will have to take into consideration that Charles had trouble holding onto the ball. Turnovers in the NFL lead to points. Also he seems like he needed to gain a few more pounds before going to the NFL. It's much harder to get to the outside with the speed in the pro's and Charles never seemed all that comfortable running in between the tackles. With all that being said I hope that he proves me wrong and has a great NFL career. I know I will miss his play making ability next year but I pretty confident that Texas can produce another great running back. Just wondering what others have to say.

by griffntexas on Jan 2, 2008 11:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Fumbles can be corrected...

speed cannot. Ask Tiki Barber about fumbling. Besides, the supposed #1 player in the draft had 11 fumbles this year compared to Jamaal's 6 or 7. NFL coaches know they can teach guys how to secure the ball better. NFL coaches also know that speed kills and Jamaal might be the fastest guy in the entire draft this year.

by Misterserious7 on Jan 3, 2008 8:05 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Good as he will get

I think going pro now is a wise move for Charles, since I do not see much chance of him improving while he's here. His fumbling is not so bad but that it seemed to come at the worst possible time. My concerns are his inability to protect the quarterback or catch passes. In the NFL, that means he will be a one down back, the one who gets the ball on first and ten but then has to come out in passing situations.

by Caradoc on Jan 3, 2008 10:08 AM CST reply actions 0 recs