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Jackson leaving Cal to enter NFL draft
California wide receiver DeSean Jackson will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Jackson, a star punt returner who had an unspectacular junior season as a receiver, waited until the last possible day, yesterday, to declare his long-assumed intention to leave the Golden Bears, who lost six of their final eight regular-season games.
Jackson had 65 receptions for 762 yards and six touchdowns last season while battling injuries. He returned one punt for a touchdown, in the season opener against Tennessee, giving him a Pacific-10 record six punt returns for touchdowns in his career.
He finished his Cal career third in school history with 2,423 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns.
Also yesterday, Oklahoma cornerback Reggie Smith became the third Sooners junior to declare for the draft. He joined linebacker Curtis Lofton and receiver Malcolm Kelly.
LSU, which has to replace 11 senior starters from its national championship team, got some good news when linebacker Darry Beckwith and defensive end Tyson Jackson announced they would return to school for their senior seasons. Defensive end Kirston Pittman also might return to the team if the NCAA approves his application for a sixth year of eligibility, coach Les Miles said.
Tennessee's leading rusher, Arian Foster, said he will return to the Volunteers for his senior season.
• Hawaii // The Warriors were expected to announce a new coach to replace June Jones as early as today, with defensive coordinator Greg McMackin considered the front-runner to land the job. McMackin has been endorsed by Jones and the remaining assistant coaches. Defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said he would be "shocked" if McMackin was not hired. McMackin initially was to join Jones at Southern Methodist but decided to apply for the Hawaii opening.
• West Virginia // The university is investigating the disappearance of records associated with the school's football program, a topic the agent for former coach Rich Rodriguez says will be addressed in court documents when the time is right. Citing anonymous sources, The Charleston Gazette reported that files kept in Rodriguez's private office disappeared between Dec. 16 and Jan. 3, along with strength and conditioning records from the weight room. The university is suing Rodriguez, who accepted the head coaching job at Michigan last month, to collect on a $4 million buyout clause in his contract.
• Buffalo // Coach Turner Gill received a contract extension that could keep the former Heisman Trophy finalist with the Bulls through 2012. Gill was entering the third year of his original five-year deal that paid him about $190,000 per season, before bonuses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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