Underclassmen goings and comings … After a day of rumors that he would be entering the upcoming draft, Louisiana Tech junior WR and KR Carlos Henderson confirmed via his Instagram account that he was indeed going to forego his senior season and enter the 2017 draft where he will add some depth to an otherwise somewhat mediocre receiving class. The 5-11, 195-pound Henderson had 82 receptions this fall for over 1,500 yards and 19 scores, while he added another 2 TDs rushing and 2 more on KO returns. In fact, Henderson led the country with a 32.2 yards per return average this fall. Meanwhile, North Carolina State FS Josh Jones has also decided to skip his senior season and enter the upcoming draft where he figures to be a mid-third day pick. At 6-2, 210 Jones has the size and speed to play in the NFL; he led the Wolfpack this year with 109 tackles and three interceptions after a subpar 2015 season. At the same time, former Miami DE Al_Quadin Muhammad has announced that he will be entering this year’s draft rather than play at FCS Hampton next fall. Muhammad was kicked off the Miami team this summer for his part in the luxury car rental issue at the school and had transferred to Hampton but didn’t play there and obviously won’t at all now. On the other hand, Oklahoma redshirt sophomore RB Joe Mixon has announced that he will be returning to school. Mixon has the physical skills to be one of the top backs in this year’s loaded RB class, but he has been dogged by a domestic abuse incident from back in 2014. For those that haven’t been following the story Mixon was suspended at that time, but the issue resurfaced – a la Ray Rice – when video of the incident was recently released. Mixon then went public to apologize to the victim but this is something the P.R. conscious NFL is very sensitive about so its probably wise for Mixon to return to school to at least put the incident further behind him if that’s possible. Virginia junior MLB Micah Kiser, another underclassmen who would have been near the top of the positional rankings for his position, has also announced that he will be returning to school, as has Vanderbilt junior RB Ralph Webb.
