Daryl Worley declares for NFL

West Virginia’s all-conference cornerback will not be a Mountaineer next season.

Junior Daryl Worley announced on his personal Twitter and Instagram pages that he would declare for the NFL Draft.

In a five paragraph post, Worley thanks his coaches, teammates and WVU fans for supporting him the past three seasons.

Worley was one of four WVU players suspended from the team prior to the Cactus Bowl against Arizona State. While the suspension wasn’t directly related to poor academics, as is the case with most postseason suspensions, Worley was sidelined for not turning a paper in on time.

But he had no trouble getting his professional paperwork filed on time.

The move to forego his senior season is an interesting one, though it isn’t surprising. The week before the bowl, Worley and running backs Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell had submitted information to a draft advisory.

"” Every kid wants to know their draft status,” Holgorsen said. “I have bad news for a lot of these guys. They are not going to get drafted, so they have to stay in school, play their tail off and enjoy their college experience. They have to help their team win and receive a degree.“A lot of these guys say that they have the tools physically to do it. There are a lot of people that are like that. That might be true, but mentally, they are not in the place to handle that. It is a tough question that they have to accept.”"

In Worley’s case, he certainly has the tools to succeed at the next level. As a junior, he had six interceptions and 49 tackles. He was an All-Big 12 honoree and Iron Mountaineer.

He was one of the team’s best performers in the secondary and would have been a team captain had he stayed around one more season.

It’s his move, though. It’s Worley’s decision, and a tough one to make, at that. He can be questioned for what he decided, but he shouldn’t be criticized for it.

Worley would have flourished had he stuck around for another year. Likely, he could have improved his draft stock, and earned a college degree in the process. Instead, he’s testing his fate at a dream most young football players have at some point in their lives.

Worley has a chance to make a lot of money doing something he loves.

No one can fault him for that.