Navorro Bowman has decided to bypass his senior year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft, the Penn State linebacker told ESPN's Joe Schad on Monday night.
Bowman, who made 199 tackles over the past two seasons, is just the third Penn State player to leave school early for the draft in the past 11 years, joining his former roommate, defensive end Aaron Maybin (the No. 11 overall pick last year) and cornerback Justin King.
Bowman stayed patient with repeated questions about his future toward the end of the season, but most expected he wouldn't be back in 2010.
During the past two years, the majority of which were spent on probation for his role in an on-campus fight in October 2007, he has dealt with the deaths of his father and his high school football coach and become a father for the first time.
“I just think I deserve it,” he said before Penn State's Capital One Bowl win over LSU. “I’ve been through so much and come from so little and worked to get to this point.”
Bowman going pro
