Sam Bradford is going to play at Oklahoma for at least another year. Fellow sophomore LeSean McCoy is headed for the pros.
Bradford, the Heisman Trophy winner, said Wednesday he will pass on the NFL draft and return to Oklahoma for his junior season. The Sooners lost to Florida 24-14 in the BCS national title game last week.
Bradford led the nation with 50 touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 180.8. He likely would have been one of the first quarterbacks taken in April’s draft.
“Obviously it’s frustrating to end with a loss and I want to come back and finish my career the right way: on a win,” said Bradford, who also let it slip that tight end Jermaine Gresham and offensive lineman Trent Williams also decided not to enter the draft early.
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has also said he’ll be back for another season with the Sooners.
Today is the deadline for juniors and third-year sophomore such as Bradford and McCoy to make themselves draft eligible.
Pittsburgh’s talented running back McCoy will head to the NFL as the owner of several school records.
“I have frequently played both choices in my mind. I have considered my alternatives and I have prayed,” McCoy said in a statement. “I have made my final decision and will forgo my junior season.”
NFL scouts project the 5-foot-11, 210-pound McCoy as a late first-round to early second-round pick.
Other players deciding to return to school Wednesday included LSU running back Charles Scott and offensive lineman Ciron Black, Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley and UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner.
For LSU, Scott ran for 1,174 yards, the fifth-best mark in school history and 18 touchdowns in 2008.
Black has been the starting left offensive tackle for the past three years. He has started 40 consecutive games for LSU.
“It’s really good for me to come back,” Black said. “I’m really close to graduating. I also have a lot more to do in college. I have to be more of a leader. Both of us have a lot we need to do. We want to be real leaders.”
Lindley led the Wildcats with four interceptions and led the Southeastern Conference in total passes defended last season with 15.
Verner, who led the nation in passes defensed (18) last season, will return to play his senior season for the Bruins.
Ohio State wide receiver Brian Hartline also announced he will skip his final year of eligibility. He had 90 catches for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns during his Ohio State career, and is expected to graduate in June with a communications degree.
Former Ram joins USC
LOS ANGELES — Brian Schneider, the Oakland Raiders’ special-teams coordinator the past two seasons, has been hired to handle the same job at Southern California.
Schneider, a three-year starter at linebacker for Colorado State in the early 1990s who later coached briefly at Air Force, replaces Dave Watson.
The Associated Press
