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Texas RB D'Onta Foreman to declare for the NFL draft

Texas running back D'Onta Foreman, who rushed for 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2016, will forego his senior season in Austin to declare for the NFL draft.

Texas junior running back D’Onta Foreman will announce today that he’s declaring for the NFL draft, a source with knowledge of the decision said.

Foreman is the nation’s leading rusher with 2,028 yards and he's scored 15 touchdowns this season. He carried Texas through the majority of the 2016 season, which ended with a 5–7 regular season and the dismissal of coach Charlie Strong.

Foreman carried the ball 323 times, one of just three tailbacks to carry the ball more than 300 times this season. The others were San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey and Wyoming’s Brian Hill.

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Foreman’s decision was largely expected, as it follows a trend of high-usage running backs leaving early for the NFL in recent seasons. Foreman will be regarded as a top prospect in a loaded running backs class, which is expected to include fellow juniors Leonard Fournette of LSU, Dalvin Cook of Florida State and Christian McCaffrey of Stanford.

Texas’s rushing void next season will likely be filled by rising junior tailback Chris Warren, who averaged 5.9 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns before being sidelined with a knee injury in early October.