A few weeks ago Florida Gators junior cornerback Jalen Tabor stated he wanted to go about his decision to enter the NFL Draft, or stay in school for his senior season “the right way.”
Tabor did that in a letter penned and published with The Players Tribune on Thursday morning. Tabor is projected as a first round pick by just about every pundit and ranked the No. 16 draft prospect by Todd McShay.
“It’s an exciting time for me. I’ve decided to do what’s best for me and my family by continuing to pursue my dreams. But I’m not saying goodbye. I’m saying see you later,” Tabor wrote in the article. “Hopefully I’ll make y’all proud and show how my passion for this game continues to shine through. You can measure how fast a guy runs and how high he jumps, but you can’t measure how much heart he has — even though there’s nothing more important.”
Tabor finishes his career at Florida with 104 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, 28 passes broken up and nine interceptions (three returned for touchdowns).
Tabor joins fellow juniors Quincy Wilson, David Sharpe and Alex Anzalone as Gator juniors that have declared for the NFL Draft. Caleb Brantley, who is also expected to forego his senior year and enter the draft, has yet to announce his decision publicly. The deadline to declare for the NFL Draft is January 16.