Durante opts to be in NFL draft
WR becomes 1st Owl to declare before senior year
A junior standout on Florida Atlantic’s offense has declared early for the NFL draft, but it’s not the one you might think.
Jovon Durante, the Owls’ redshirt junior wide receiver, announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he will forgo his senior college football season to enter the draft.
Durante becomes the first FAU football player to declare before his senior season, but he may not be the last in this class. The team is still awaiting a decision from junior running back Devin “Motor” Singletary, the Owls’ all-time rushing leader who said before season’s end he has given the NFL some thought.
In Durante’s tweet, he wrote “Stage 3 of this great journey. All I need is support and watch me take off,” adding a letter to FAU and West Virginia University, from which he transferred to the Owls, thanking his two colleges.
“It’s been a long ride! I would like to thank Owl Nation and the coaching staff for the opportunity you guys gave me continuing my education and collegiate career here,” he said in the portion regarding his time at FAU. “Coming to FAU was way different from West Virginia, but has been the best decision I have ever made.”
Durante led FAU in receptions (65), receiving yards (873) and receiving touchdowns (five) in 2018, a season that came to an end for the Owls in a 27-24 loss to Charlotte the final week of the regular season. The defeat left them 5-7 and ineligible for a bowl game.
Durante had 378 receiving yards with the Mountaineers in 2015 and 331 in 2016. He sat out the 2017 season at FAU due to NCAA transfer rules.
Durante was a Miramar High graduate before enrolling at West Virginia.
Now the wait is to find out if Singletary will also make the move to the pros. He finished his junior season sixth on the all-time list of career rushing touchdowns in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 66.
Mock draft site WalterFootball ranks Singletary as the eighth-best running back prospect eligible for the 2019 draft. The site does not list Durante in its wide receiver rankings.
Among FAU seniors to watch for as draft possibilities are linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, safety Jalen Young and offensive lineman Reggie Bain.
Robison C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year: The conference honors continued to roll in for FAU after it had nine players recognized Tuesday on All-Conference USA teams.
Owls quarterback Chris Robison was named C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year. The redshirt freshman split it with Marshall signal caller Isaiah Green.
Robison was up and down this past season after winning a preseason competition against redshirt junior De’Andre Johnson and grad transfer Rafe Peavey to start. He had drastic home-road splits, largely favoring his play at FAU Stadium, but overall completed 63.2 percent of passes for 2,540 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added three rushing scores.