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West Virginia's Wendell Smallwood heading to NFL draft

Ben Queen / USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia running back Wendell Smallwood will forego his final year of eligibility to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Smallwood led the Big 12 with 1,519 rushing yards to go with nine touchdowns. In his career, he's carried the ball 425 times for 2,462 yards and 12 scores.

"All my life I've dreamed of competing on Sunday's and I believe the time is now to pursue that dream," he said in a statement. "There are no words for what the past three years at West Virginia University have meant to me, not only in my development as a football player but more importantly as a man."

This marks a huge hit to a West Virginia team that was looking to return virtually all of its offense next season.

That being said, Smallwood's stock can't get any higher, given he's a running back who has the ability to catch balls and go wide as well.

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