Auburn running back Tre Mason will skip his senior year and enter the NFL Draft.
#Auburn junior running back @TreMason21 will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft
— Auburn Football (@FootballAU) January 9, 2014
Mason's great season turned exceptional over the final three games of Auburn's season and he earned a trip to New York City where he finished sixth in the Heisman voting.
Mason finished the season with 1,816 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns, and ran for 164 and a score against Alabama, 304 and four scores against Missouri in the SEC title game and 195 yards and a touchdown against Florida State in the BCS Championship Game.
That touchdown came with 1:19 left and was from 37 yards out. It gave Auburn a brief 31-27 lead late, but Florida State won the game 34-31 on a 2-yard pass from Jameis Winston to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left.
He received a third round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board.
"After all the thought, talking to family and friends, I talked to my mom and dad, went over it a lot with them," Mason said at a Thursday press conference (via AL.com) announcing the decision. "I'm going to declare for the 2014 NFL Draft."
In 2012 at Auburn, Mason ran for 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns. He flourished under coach Gus Malzahn's offense as the inside running option as Auburn went 12-2 this year.
He's the second star SEC running back to declare for the draft this week. On Tuesday, Missouri's Henry Josey declared for the Draft. Josey ran for 1,166 yards and 16 touchdowns.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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