Perhaps the most painful sort of NFL departure is the "but he's a sophomore!" sort where a kid in only his second year on the field bolts. Normally this is not an option, but if you redshirt a guy who then blows up it's a possibility. See: Michael Vick. Texas TE Jermichael Finley is the latest third-year sophomore to depart: "The NFL is every football players dream and when my NFL grade came back, it was encouraging and I felt like it was in my best interest to enter the draft," Finley said in a statement. "I've worked really hard for three years at Texas to prepare for this and I think I'm ready for the challenge. Coach Chambers and all of the coaches have helped me improve and taught me so much that I can't thank them enough.I wonder what that grade was. Whatever it is, it was probably not first-round. Finley had 45 catches for around 600 yards last year, decent but not unbelievable numbers. GBN does not have him in their top 135 draft prospects.
Tailback Jamaal Charles announced his intention to depart a couple weeks ago; remarkably, before that the only player to leave early under Mack Brown at Texas was one Vince Young. Which, like, duh.
