Seau Says He Will Leave USC to Join NFL

USC linebacker Junior Seau, the Pacific 10 Conference defensive player of the year in 1989, announced Wednesday he will skip his senior season at USC and enter the NFL draft.

Seau, who has played just two seasons for the Trojans after being ineligible as a freshman, had 19 sacks last season--one shy of the school record.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder could be among the top five picks in the April draft.

“I’m not believing any of it,” Seau said during a campus news conference. “It’s a nice picture. Hopefully it’s a true one.”

USC Coach Larry Smith, though, said he is concerned about Seau’s draft prospects.

Smith remembers last year, when Trojan quarterback Rodney Peete--considered a sure high pick--lasted until the sixth round before he was selected by Detroit.

“There’s so much uncertainty about the whole thing,” Smith said. “Junior’s being told by the press that he should come out, that he’ll be a top five pick. But I don’t know any (reporter) who has talked to a pro team. I’ve talked to them and they haven’t told me that.”

Smith criticized the NFL for its policy of allowing underclassmen to enter the draft.

He called the present situation a “mad rush,” adding it’s only a matter of time before college sophomores, then freshman--and then high-school players--go directly to the NFL.

“I’m saddened by the whole thing . . . there are some real sorry things happening right now,” he said. “I think the sorriest is that the NFL has stuck its head in the sand on the whole thing.

“They say they don’t want (underclassmen entering the NFL), but they’re out there signing and drafting them, aren’t they?”

Smith, who also faces the possible loss of All-American safety Mark Carrier to the pros, indicated he will place tighter controls on NFL scouts who want access to practice or game film.

Other underclassmen who have applied for this year’s NFL draft include Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell, Alabama linebacker Keith McCants and running backs Emmitt Smith of Florida, Rodney Hampton of Georgia, Reggie Cobb of Tennessee, Marcus Wilson of Virginia and Barry Foster of Arkansas.

Seau, who said he does not yet have an agent, said the possible implementation of an NFL salary cap, which could limit player salaries, was a factor in his decision to leave college 39 credits short of graduation.

“It was a motivation,” he said. “Who knows if it will happen next year or two years from now?”

Seau, in the style of Lawrence Taylor, appears to have the speed, quickness and strength to be an NFL star. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and has bench-pressed as much as 440 pounds.

Seau had 72 tackles last year, including 27 for losses, with one interception and two fumble recoveries. In a 24-3 victory Nov. 11 at Arizona that clinched USC’s third straight Pac-10 title, he registered 12 tackles.

“Seau is the best player I have ever been on the field against as a coach,” Arizona’s Dick Tomey said after that game.

Seau was a prep All-American at Oceanside High School, where he played linebacker and tight end. He did not play as a freshman after failing to meet Proposition 48 requirements.