A month ago Virginia linebacker Max Valles took to Twitter to shut down any rumors suggesting he had decided to forgo his final year at Virginia to enter the NFL Draft. Today, Valles is singing a different tune, and will indeed pass on the 2015 season to enter the NFL Draft.
“After talking it over with my family, I am officially declaring for the NFL Draft,” Valles said on Twitter.
The loss of Valles is another blow to the defensive depth for the Cavaliers in 2015. Valles was the team’s third-leading tackler among linebackers, with the top two -- Daquan Romero and Henry Coley -- each being seniors. Valles had 55 tackles in 2014, including a team-high eight sacks among his 12.5 tackles for a loss this past season. Virginia is set to lose five of their top six tacklers from the 2014 season.I’ll be a wahoo for life! Thanks for the memories UVA! pic.twitter.com/0LtlbwABiD
— Max Valles (@big_black5) January 6, 2015
Valles joins Eli Harold as the second Virgina underclassmen to declare for the 2015 NFL Draft. The Cavaliers do hope to have some veteran leadership on defense next season after defensive back Demetrious Nicholson was awarded a sixth year of eligibility from the ACC this week.