|
|
|
Will Luke Stay Or Go Pro?
The Deseret News Feature Story
Dec. 21, 2001
By Jeff Call PROVO, Utah - Injured BYU star Luke Staley has to tackle a big decision in the next few weeks. Will he return for his senior season and make a run at the Heisman Trophy? Or will he declare himself eligible for the National Football League draft? Staley has said publicly that he will be back with the Cougars in 2002, but his record-breaking 2001 campaign has led to speculation that he might jump to the NFL. Coach Gary Crowton says his All-America running back is carefully mulling his options. The deadline for early entry to the draft is Jan. 11. "I don't think he can make any decisions right now," Crowton said. "He and I have talked a few times about what he wants to do. He just had an injury. He doesn't know where he'd go in the draft." In early January, Staley will receive the results of an evaluation conducted by the NFL Advisory Committee, a panel composed of league general managers and personnel directors that helps underclassmen decide whether or not to enter the draft. That evaluation will tell Staley in which round he is projected to go in the April draft, should he opt to skip his senior year. "As he looks at that, he'll make a good, sound decision," Crowton said. "He's a very thoughtful person. He'll think it through and make a good decision. We'll support him. We want what's best for him." Staley broke his left leg at Mississippi State on Dec. 1, and on Tuesday he had surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his ankle, sustained as a result of the fractured fibula. The 2001 Doak Walker Award winner will not play against Louisville in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31. Crowton doesn't think Staley's history of injuries and surgeries would adversely affect his draft stock this year, though he added that Staley's current injury situation might. "He played healthy and had an excellent year," Crowton said. "The only injury that I'm worried about is his injury now. The knees have healed, the shoulders have healed and that was evident in the way he played this year. Now he has a new injury. The thing about this new injury is rehab time. Does he have enough rehab time to convince the scouts that he's worth the early draft, or does he need some time to heal up? It's too early to call right now." NEW COACH: Crowton says he's in no real hurry to hire a replacement for defensive line coach Tom Ramage, who will retire after the Liberty Bowl. "I'm not going to do anything until after the bowl and possibly after recruiting," Crowton said. "I've got my eyes open. I've just been too busy and I can't do everything at once. I've been trying to focus on recruiting and this game." Utah defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi, who played for the Cougars from 1986-87, is considered to be one of the leading candidates to take Ramage's place. FARRIS WHEELS: With Staley and Brian McDonald-Ashford shelved for the Liberty Bowl and Ned Stearns and Paul Peterson nursing broken wrists, Crowton has been looking for more running back prospects on his roster. He may have found one in sophomore safety Alex Farris. Crowton has switched Farris to running back and during Thursday's practice, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder lined up at that position for the first time since high school. As a senior at Glenn's Ferry High in Idaho in 1998, he was named to the all-state team as a running back and as a linebacker. Backup running backs Chris Stevens and Jared Harper also took turns in the backfield for the Cougars on Thursday. TICKET SALES: As of Wednesday, BYU had sold 5,500 Liberty Bowl tickets. The school has a financial obligation to sell 10,000 tickets to the game in Memphis, Tenn. BYU is offering Cougar fans who cannot attend the Liberty Bowl the opportunity to purchase tickets for LDS missionaries serving in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission, as well as for individuals who are investigating the church in that area.
For more information, call the BYU ticket office at 378-BYU1 or 1-800-322-BYU1.
|
|
