Pack's Morgan to enter NFL draft

N.C. State safety DaJuan Morgan, the Wolfpack's leading tackler during the 2007 season, has decided to forgo his final year of college football eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

Morgan, from Riviera Beach, Fla., had 73 solo tackles and 97 hits in all for the Wolfpack. He intercepted three passes and made the All-ACC second team.

After State's 1-5 start under first-year coach Tom O'Brien, Morgan was shifted from strong safety to free safety. He solidified the secondary and helped the Pack win four straight games before finishing 5-7.

Morgan, who is projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick, has decided to hire agent Ben Dogra of CAA Sports.

Morgan said one highlight of this past season was being on the field with his younger brother, DeAndre. The two never played together in high school.

(Chip Alexander)

MORE FOOTBALL

THEY'RE LEAVING: Rashard Mendenhall will skip his senior year at Illinois and enter the NFL draft after rushing for a school-record 1,681 yards while leading the Illini to the Rose Bowl.

Also Thursday, Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling, West Virginia wide receiver Darius Reynaud and Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett announced they will pass up a final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

THEY'RE STAYING: Tennessee offensive linemen Anthony Parker and Ramon Foster and starting punter Britton Colquitt said they will return to play their senior seasons for the Vols.

MCFADDEN HANDCUFFED BRIEFLY IN BAR SCUFFLE: Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden of Arkansas was handcuffed by police and then released without charges after being involved in a "pretty rowdy scene" at a piano bar early Thursday in Little Rock.

The All-America running back and at least four others were at a downtown bar, called Ernie Biggs, when a disturbance broke out shortly after midnight, police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

Outside, McFadden was handcuffed by a police officer "because he was agitated and was provoking aggressive behavior inciting the incident," according to the police report.

McFadden, who was the only person handcuffed, was released after he calmed down. Hastings said it was routine procedure to handcuff a person to gain control of a situation.

McFadden's mother, Mini Muhammad, said her son was trying to protect his younger brother, Daryl.

"He wasn't the one that was fighting. It was his little brother -- someone had jumped on him," Muhammad said. "He was agitated because his brother had a bloody nose."

BRIEFLY: Purdue might announce the successor to football coach Joe Tiller as soon as today. Several media outlets have reported that Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope will be hired as assistant head coach, then become head coach in 2009.

* A San Diego sports marketer claims in a new book that he gave former Southern California running back Reggie Bush nearly $300,000 in cash while Bush was still in college.

* Three days after winning the national title, LSU announced a plan to raise the price of football tickets by $5 per game.

BASKETBALL

CAVS GUARD OUT FOR SEASON: Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski will have a second operation on his right ankle and will miss the rest of the season, the school announced Thursday. Zeglinski played in eight games this season.

(The Associated Press)