Irish’s Fuller to enter NFL draft
Notre Dame will be without its top receiver as well as its top rusher next season.
Will Fuller, a junior from Philadelphia, said on Twitter on Sunday he is joining running back C.J. Prosise in entering the NFL draft. Prosise, a senior from Petersburg, Va., with a year of eligibility left, announced his decision to enter the draft Saturday.
Fuller and Prosise played key roles for the Fighting Irish, who finished the season 10-3 and lost to No. 7 Ohio State, 44-28, in the Fiesta Bowl on Friday. Fuller had a career-long 81-yard touchdown catch against the Buckeyes.
Fuller had planned to return for his senior season to earn his degree, but after long consideration he thinks “it is in my best interest” to leave school early.
“My heart truly wanted to return to Notre Dame, but it has also been a lifelong dream to play in the NFL,” he wrote.
Fuller becomes the 12th Notre Dame underclassman to declare for the draft since the NFL started allowing it in 1989. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt, Troy Niklas and George Atkinson declared following the 2013 season.
Fuller led the Irish in receiving this season with 62 catches for 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns, finishing seven games with more than 100 yards receiving. He has 30 career receiving touchdowns, second on the school all-time list. Michael Floyd, who played for the Irish from 2008 to 2011, holds the record with 37 receiving touchdowns.
West Virginia edges Arizona State
Skyler Howard threw for a Cactus Bowl-record 532 yards and hit David Sills on a 15-yard pass for his fifth touchdown with 2:19 left, lifting West Virginia to a wild 43-42 win over Arizona State in a game in Phoenix that ended late Saturday night.
The Cactus Bowl made up for its late start with an assault on the record books.
The teams combined for 1,196 yards of offense and the 950 yards passing was the most in the Cactus Bowl’s 27year history.
Typically a run-oriented team, West Virginia (8-5) went to the air, and Howard broke the Cactus Bowl record of 476 yards set by Washington State’s Drew Bledsoe in 1992.
Mike Bercovici threw for 418 yards and hit Gary Chambers on a 58-yard pass in the fourth quarter for his fourth touchdown of the game, but Arizona State (6-7) kicked an extra point instead of going for two, then turned the ball over on downs on its last possession.
Etc.
Texas A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital is leaving after three seasons at the school. The Aggies issued a statement that says Spavital and the school “have mutually decided to part ways.” … North Carolina State offensive coordinator Matt Canada won’t return next season. School athletics spokesman Fred Demarest said in an email Sunday that Canada has been “relieved of his duties.”