Gator Percy Harvin to NFL
By David Jones, Florida Today
GAINESVILLE — On the final day for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft, Florida receiver Percy Harvin said he will leave for professional football while linebacker Brandon Spikes is staying in college for his senior year.
Harvin is expected to be a first-round pick while Spikes had been forecast as a low-first round draft pick, who could have fallen into the second round.
Harvin and Spikes were first- and second-team All-Americans, respectively. Spikes was named the SEC's Defensive MVP this past season. He had said numerous times that Tim Tebow's decision would influence him. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, announced Sunday at the national championship celebration he is staying for his senior year.
Harvin ran for 122 yards on nine carries and caught five passes for another 49 yards in the 24-14 national title game win against Oklahoma last Thursday, despite playing with a high ankle sprain and a hairline fracture. He finished the season with 660 yards rushing on just 70 carries, an average of 9.4 per attempt, while scoring 10 touchdowns.
He also caught a team-high 40 passes for another 644 yards (16.1 per catch) with an addition seven TDs.
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Defensive MVP
Spikes had six tackles against Oklahoma. He led the Gators with 93 total tackles during a 13-1 season and had four interceptions — returning two for touchdowns.
"I'm excited to hear that Brandon is coming back," Florida coach Urban Meyer said on Thursday. "At the end of the day, I want our players to make educated decisions about their future. Brandon has obviously done that. He was the heart and soul of our defense this year. He was the quarterback of our defense and set the tone in many of our victories."
Spikes, who has a brother in a North Carolina prison serving a life sentence for murder, hopes to use some of the money he receives from an NFL contract to help him get a new trial. It made staying in school even harder.
"It was a tough decision for me and my family. I just felt like it was the right choice to come back," Spikes said. "I love the coaching staff and my teammates and I look forward to playing another year in front of the best fans in America."
Harvin said his time at UF was special.
"I will have a lot of great memories from my time at Florida, but the championships we won in 2006 and 2008 will be at the top of my list," he said. "When it is all said and done, I wanted to win. I wanted to be a part of championship teams. We did that at Florida and I had a great group of coaches, teammates and medical and strength staff that helped make that happen. I will always be a Gator and look forward to watching them play next year on Saturdays."
Harvin finished his UF career with 133 catches for 1,929 yards and 13 TDs, while rushing the ball 194 times for 1,852 yards with 19 TDs. His 32 career touchdowns is the most ever by a UF wide receiver. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry and averaged 11.6 yards ever time he touched the ball.
He is the only player in UF history to rush for 100 yards and have 100 yards receiving in the same game (Vanderbilt, 2007). Harvin was the MVP of the 2006 SEC title game as a true freshman.
"Percy is the most dynamic player I've ever coached and can change the game on any given play," Meyer said. "He has the best first step I've ever seen and his ability to plant his foot and go is unmatched. Percy is a relentless competitor who wants to win. We wish him the best of luck and we look forward to having him around our program. He will always be a part of our Gator football family."
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LEAVING EARLY</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText colSpan=2>A list of prominent underclassmen leaving school for the NFL:
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width=237 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=vaTextBold width=93>Player </TD><TD class=vaTextBold width=30>
Pos.
</TD><TD class=vaTextBold width=20>Yr.
</TD><TD class=vaTextBold width=73>School</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Donald Brown</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Connecticut</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Everette Brown</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
DE
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Florida State</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Michael Crabtree</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
WR
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Texas Tech</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Nate Davis</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
QB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Ball State</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Vontae Davis</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
DB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Illinois</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Josh Freeman</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
QB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Kansas State</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Shonn Greene</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Iowa</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Percy Harvin</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
WR
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Florida</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>P.J. Hill</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Wisconsin</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Paul Kruger</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
DE
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Utah</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Sen'Derrick Marks</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
DT
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Auburn</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Jeremy Maclin</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
WR
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Missouri</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Aaron Maybin</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
DE
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Penn State</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>LeSean McCoy</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Pittsburgh</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Knowshon Moreno</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>So.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Georgia</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Hakeem Nicks</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
WR
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>North Carolina</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Mark Sanchez</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
QB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Southern Cal</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Andre Smith</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
OL
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Alabama</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Matt Stafford</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
QB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Georgia</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vaText width=93>Chris Wells</TD><TD class=vaText width=30>
RB
</TD><TD class=vaText width=20>Jr.
</TD><TD class=vaText width=73>Ohio State</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=4>
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