North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky declares for 2017 NFL Draft

It seemed like a foregone conclusion, but North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky has officially declared for the 2017 NFL Draft.

One of the fastest NFL Draft risers during the 2016 college football season was North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky, as he completed over 68 percent of his passes with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first season as a starter. It seemed to be an easy decision to leave a year early for the NFL, and now Trubisky has made the decision official.

Trubisky wrote a piece for the Player’s Tribune to announce his decision, and here’s a small sample.

"“After a lot of prayer and thought, I have decided to forgo my senior year and enter the NFL draft. This has been the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. But no matter what happens next, I know I’ll never experience something as special as being a Tar Heel,”"

Trubisky is widely considered the No. 1 quarterback in the 2017 draft class, with Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer also in that mix. The No.1 pick-holding Cleveland Browns have already been rumored to really like Trubisky, to point of scouting him at the Sun Bowl last month, and the New York Jets at No. 6 overall have also been reported to like the now-former Tar Heel.

The San Francisco 49ers (No. 2 overall) and the Chicago Bears (No. 3 overall) are also in the mix to take a quarterback early in this year’s draft, so even in a thin class at the position a handful of guys could be first-round picks.

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A one-year sample as a starter is a big red flag attached to Trubisky, and plenty of signal callers with that resume have failed epically in the pros. But NFL teams often bet purely on potential when drafting quarterbacks, and Trubisky is in position to cash in at the peak of his value.