Kansas WR Nigel King going pro

Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Nigel King is opting to go pro with the NFL instead of staying one more season in the NCAA.

Nigel King transferred into the Kansas football program relatively late, in August of 2014, and now, he’s not sticking around much longer. On Friday, he told two different outlets in the Lawrence Journal-World and the Topeka Capital-Journal that he intends to declare for the NFL draft.

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By declaring for the draft, King forgoes his last two years of eligibility. However, King has already graduated and says he’s hopeful for a Combine invite based on how he performed in his one season with Kansas.

“I didn’t start the season off as strong as I wanted,” King told the Journal-World. “But I felt good about the way I finished and it just came down to me feeling like I was ready for it and knowing in my heart that this is what I want to do.”

King transferred from the University of Maryland at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and had a pretty decent season with the Jayhawks. He had 29 receptions for 518 yards and one touchdown. He quickly emerged as one of the team’s best deep threats. He had a big moment on the highlight reel during the year as well. The 78 yard, circus-worthy touchdown grab came against TCU when Kansas nearly upset them.

The play was nominated nationally as the offensive play of the year for college football.

King said he initially had intended to finish graduate school while playing out his remaining years of eligibility. However, after the season with the Jayhawks, he felt he was ready to make the move to the NFL. During the latter half of the season, King developed a strong rapport with Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings and there were high hopes for even greater things from the two in 2015.

Now, Kansas is poised to lose their entire veteran receiving corps, which will make them one of the most inexperienced receiver groups in the Big 12 in 2015.

"Part of the reason King chose to join the Jayhawks was receivers coach Eric Kiesau, who had a previous relationship with King’s high school coach Otis Yelverton. Kiesau was not retained on KU’s coaching staff this offseason following the hiring of new coach David Beaty. (via Topeka Capital-Journal)"

King is now in the process of finding an agent and has said that if he doesn’t get an invite to the NFL Combine in February, he intends to attend Kansas U’s pro timing day in March. He will spend the next month preparing for both.

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