Pitt Football: Dion Lewis To The NFL Draft?

With all of the Pitt coaching stuff going on, it appears that Dion Lewis isn't sticking around for the potential rebuilding project.

Paul Zeise of the Post-Gazette reports that Lewis is likely NFL-bound.

Multiple sources are telling him that Lewis will head to the pros:

As I reported tonight, multiple sources have told me that sophomore tailback Dion Lewis is expected to declare himself eligible for the NFL draft as soon as the season is over - meaning sometime next week. Lewis, with the help of Dave Wannstedt, looked into his draft status and was told by the NFL he'd be about a third round pick and that, along with the fact that Wannstedt (and his power running offense) are gone apparently have convinced him that the time is right.

That, to me, would be a bit of a surprise, but not a huge shock. Still, after a somewhat down season, I expected Lewis to come back for another year. If Lewis could regain his past form, it's conceivable he could go from a third-round pick to a first-round pick - and that could be significantly more money. But I suppose that some money is better than none and considering Lewis isn't sure of Pitt's future, this isn't a total reach.

But if a certain fullback leaves, that sounds like desperation to me:

And the other underclassmen who is, at least considering, a jump to the NFL is fullback Henry Hynoski

and while he hasn't made up his mind, it is understandable why he is considering it given the position he plays. That's because Wannstedt's offense utilized a fullback, many college offenses don't these days and that could mean Hynoski would spend his senior season on the bench. I think his decision could come down to who is selected as coach and how they utilize a fullback.

Henry Hynoski? Really?

I don't know. I realize there aren't many quality fullbacks out there and Hynoski has shown really good pass-catching ability this season. But I'm not sure about that move.

The flip side is that, how much could he even improve his draft stock if he stuck around? He caught 23 balls this season, which for a fullback, is pretty good. He did, however, only have 33 rushing yards and his longest rush was seven yards. He seems to be an above average blocker, maybe the most important part of being a fullback, so this might not be an awful move. I don't know, I guess when you think of guys leaving early for the NFL, you think of sure things. And Hyno doesn't strike me as that. But if he's unsure about the system and how he'd be used, then I guess I can understand his reasoning to a degree.