USC Trojans defensive tackle Jay Tufele is opting out of the potential spring football season, instead choosing to focus on preparing for the NFL draft.
Tufele made the announcement on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Looking forward to this next chapter in my life. 🙏🏽✌️ #fightonforever pic.twitter.com/tjLPSxKHzU
— 🇼🇸jay Tufele🇦🇸 (@tufele123) August 19, 2020
Tufele has been on every 2021 mock draft and big board, often showing up as a late first round pick, so it’s no surprise to see him opt out and avoid risking potential injury or underperformance, which would only damage his draft stock and potential future earnings.
The hulking defensive tackle was the No. 39 recruit in the country when he joined the Trojans in 2017, and he’s tallied 7.5 sacks through his first two seasons – demonstrating a lot of success as a run-stuffer up the middle.
Tufele almost left after last season, when he was a first team All-PAC-12 member as a rising sophomore, but he felt he had more to improve upon and chose to come back for another season.
Now, he’ll have to hope he’s done enough for NFL scouts and general managers to take a gamble on him, despite not getting a chance to see him in action in 2020.
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