The Southeastern Conference's all-time leader in receptions will not be adding to his record next fall. Earl Bennett announced he would forgo his senior season to enter the 2008 NFL Draft at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
It was the end of a long decision-making process for Bennett, who consulted many close to him.

"After thinking for weeks and weeks about the situation, talking with my family, talking with my coaches, my friends and close relatives, mainly talking to God to guide me through this process...I decided to skip my senior year and make myself eligible for the NFL Draft," Bennett said. "There is no other place I would've rather been these three years. I just thank coach Johnson and his staff for continuing to recruit me even when I was committed to Kentucky, and I thank them for allowing me the chance to come in and help this program and continue to build on it."

Bennett had an extremely productive career for Vanderbilt, finishing with 236 career receptions, 2,852 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 2007, the Biltetnikoff Trophy semifinalist caught 70 passes for 830 yards and had five touchdowns to earn first-team All-SEC honors.

No. 10 rewrote the record book during his time on West End. He is the school leader in touchdowns in a game (5), yards in a game (223) and most games with 10 catches or more (9).

"We're certainly sad about it from a selfish point of view, but we're also very thrilled for Earl," Johnson said, who joined Bennett for the press conference along with Bennett's family. "This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Earl did a fantastic job of weighing the pluses and the minuses and finding out what was best for him and his family."

Perhaps Bennett will be remembered for stepping up in bigger SEC games, shown most by his winning touchdown catch at Tennessee.

"Earl is a huge part of us having a chance to win some of the big games we won and also the chance that we had to move our program forward," Johnson said. "I think he can help do that in the NFL. He's going to immediately add a lot of class to any team."

Bennett is projected as a second-round pick on nfldraftscout.com and is rated the sixth-best receiver in the draft.

"If they want a great guy on and off the field, I can provide that," Bennett said. "Hopefully, I can provide some excitement on the field."

Bennett plans on finishing his degree in Secondary Education, and may still enroll in classes this semester after planning his workout and combine schedule. The NFL Draft takes place April 26-27.

-Gibbons can be reached at william.l.gibbons@vanderbilt.edu.