Notre Dame DE Stephon Tuitt declares for the 2014 NFL Draft
By Jack Crosby
As if the Notre Dame Fighting Irish didn’t have enough to worry about in regards to rebuilding their team for next season, they took another huge hit on Sunday with star defensive end Stephon Tuitt officially declaring his intentions to enter the 2014 NFL Draft, the junior told Sports Illustrated on Sunday.
"“I just relaxed, thought about it, hung out with my family, prayed about it,” Tuitt told SI.com in a phone interview. “I’m ready for it, and this is something I want to do."
At 6-6 and 322-pounds, the athletic pass rusher has turned a lot of heads in the NFL with his tremendous abilities, coupled with his size, coming off the edge.
When asked how he came about the decision, ultimately it didn’t come down, though, to what his draft grade from the advisory board said, but this was just something that Tuitt felt was the right move to make.
"“I’m ready to take my game to another level. Research had nothing to do with it. All I did was work out pros and cons, and that helped me realize I have more pros than cons and I’m ready to go. I’m comfortable and confident and I’m ready to take this step for me.”"
Tuitt’s departure depleted the Notre Dame defensive line even further as they’re already trying to figure out how to replace defensive tackle Louis Nix III.