January 10, 2008
Reynaud headed to the NFL
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
MORGANTOWN -- Receiver Darius Reynaud will skip his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft.
"He's going to go into the draft," his mother, Katrina, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Wednesday night.
Reynaud could not be reached Wednesday and did not return messages left at his home in Luling, La., earlier in the week. WVU Coach Bill Stewart was also unavailable for comment.
Reynaud's decision can't be a surprise, though. He'll graduate in May and subsequently earn back the year of eligibility he lost in 2004-05 when he sat out as an academic prop, but he submitted papers to the NFL's draft advisory committee last year. He returned to school, but the goal remained in play throughout this season.
Reynaud has been engaged for more than a year to his longtime girlfriend and they have a two-year-old daughter. He submitted his paperwork to be evaluated by the advisory committee again last month.
"I have to feed my daughter," he said last month. "Every time I step on the field, that's my motivation."
His last trip onto a college football field was vintage Reynaud. He scored on a 30-yard reverse and caught five passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown was his 12th receiving score of the season and tied Chris Henry's single-season school record.
Afterward, he was admittedly torn between staying and going.
"It's going to be a last-minute decision," he said. "I have a tough choice to make and I'll sit down with my parents and talk about all this. It'll be really hard to leave knowing we have lot of guys coming back on offense and that we have a chance to be really good again next year."
Defensive end Johnny Dingle previously announced he'd go pro and forego the year of eligibility he'd earn back by graduating early. Junior running back Steve Slaton has also submitted paperwork to the advisory committee, but has yet to make a decision.
http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/200801100328
