Calhoun To Enter NFL Draft
January 12, 2006 | Football
Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun announced Thursday that he will forego his senior year with the Badgers in order to enter the 2006 National Football League draft. Calhoun made the announcement at a news conference at the Kohl Center on the UW-Madison campus.
'The decision to leave with one year of eligibility remaining to play football was a difficult one, but was done with a lot of forethought, research, counsel, prayer and with the help of my family,' Calhoun said.
The junior from Oak Creek, Wis., enjoyed a tremendous 2005 season. He was a second-team All-America choice and consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection, as well as a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.
Calhoun led the Big Ten this season in scoring (11.1 ppg) and all-purpose yardage (169.8 ypg). He was second in rushing (125.9 ypg). Nationally, he finished fifth, sixth and sixth, respectively, in those three categories. He finished the 2005 season with 348 rushing attempts (a UW season record and seventh-most in Big Ten history); 1,636 rushing yards (fifth-most in UW history) and 22 rushing TDs (a UW record). He also concluded the 2005 campaign with 53 receptions for 571 receiving yards (both season records for a UW running back). In addition, he accumulated 2,207 all-purpose yards, second-most in school history; scored 24 total TDs, tied for the most in a season in UW history and tied for sixth-most in Big Ten history; scored 144 points, most in school history and tied for sixth in Big Ten history.
Calhoun registered nine 100-yard rushing efforts (T4th in school history) in 2005. The last of those was a 213-yard performance in the Capital One Bowl victory over seventh-ranked Auburn. It was the second-highest individual rushing total in that bowl game's history. Calhoun was named MVP of the bowl game.
In three collegiate seasons (the first two at Colorado), he rushed for 2,760 yards and 27 touchdowns, while catching 89 passes for 910 yards and four TDs.
The NFL Draft will take place on April 29-30.
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A transcript of Brian Calhoun's new conference follows:
BRIAN CALHOUN: Hello and thank you for coming to this press conference. First off I'd like to announce that I have decided to declare for the 2006 NFL Draft. The decision to leave with one year remaining of eligibility was a difficult decision. It was done with a lot of forethought, a lot of research, counsel, prayer and the help of my family. I would first of all like to thank Coach Alvarez and the rest of the stay for doing a great job (coaching) me and helping me feel comfortable when I came back here.
I would also like to thank my teammates for accepting me as a member of the team two years ago, and I hope each and everyone one of them the very best in the future. I'd also like to thank them for making me a better player and a better individual. I want to thank my O-line and my tight ends and fullbacks for doing a great job block for me, and (John) Stocco for throwing passes to me this year.
I also want to thank my friends, and my fans my Oak Creek, Milwaukee, Madison and throughout Wisconsin for your great support over the last two years. There are no other fans like Wisconsin (fans); I'm very privileged to have played in front of them. I'd like to thank you again for your support'please keep my family and me in your thoughts.
BRET BIELEMA: I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Brian had to do today. Obviously this is something that has been speculated and talked about for a long time, and I know he put a lot of thought into it. One thing I tried to do'I was a little biased in my opinion as coach'I sat down with him in December and tried to give him as much information as I could of people that could give him unbiased opinion, someone that doesn't have a personal agenda with him or his family. For him to go through this process in the right way'I'm a big 1-0 philosophy-type person'I tried to put an emphasis, obviously, on the bowl game. I think it was clear to everyone that he did as well as the team, and I didn't want to take anything away from that.
During the course over the last several weeks he's been able to come to some conclusions on his own. I have the utmost respect for everything he 's accomplished. Obviously I wanted Brian back for another year, but the biggest thing he had to do was to take into account everything he had learned with all the information he had gathered. And no matter how much time he spent here at the University of Wisconsin, one thing they can never take away is the accomplishments that he did. As a coach I greatly respected what he was able to do in the year in transition. It wasn 't easy to come in and be on the scout team after being a premier back at another conference.
The work that he did that year ' the thing that he did during the past season ' probably one of the biggest rewards you can take from Brian is obviously a lot of things he accomplished on the football field, but it was important down at the bowl game there were several occasions where he was a hot commodity to stay an extra 15 minutes, half-hour, sometimes longer than that. To take time out of his personal time for anybody that wanted an autograph, anybody that wanted to have a word, that will be one of the things that will be the biggest surprise at the next level: the maturity that he displays, and that's being evidenced here today.
QUESTION 1: Brian, who did you depend on besides Coach Bielema to gather your information' What were you able to discern about how you will be used as an NFL running back'
CALHOUN: Obviously I tried to seek out as much information as possible. I sat down and talked to Coach Alvarez, to Coach (Bielema) on more than one occasion; I talked with Coach Chryst, Coach Eric Bieniemy at UCLA. I just tried to gather as much information as possible as far as what they thought I should do and whether they thought I was ready for that next step. I think, after gathering all that information, it was the right choice and it was time for me to make that jump.
QUESTION 2: Brian, what finally made your decision'
CALHOUN: I think right after the bowl game. It's been a pretty good year, and I think after the bowl game for not only myself but the way the team played ' and for me to go out that way, to send Coach Alvarez off on a good note like that ' I think that was the nail in the coffin. That's when I said that I'm ready to make that next step.
QUESTION 3: Brian, was there a cutoff point in draft round where you would think to stay'
CALHOUN: Not necessarily. If I was going to be a second-day pick, I wouldn't be entering the draft. Obviously I have a lot of faith in myself that I will be a first-day pick. That was the main reason why I decided to declare.
QUESTION 4: Brian, what kind of back do you see yourself as in the NFL'
CALHOUN: One of the things I think I do well is catch the ball out of the backfield. Right now I could see myself used as a third-down back, but I think eventually over time I can develop to a back'in the right system'to a guy that can carry the ball 20 times a game and be a productive running back.
QUESTION 5: Bret, what did you tell Brian to try to make him stay '
BIELEMA: Without going into great detail, it was an arm wrestling match (just kidding).
The one thing I really believe, if you're in this profession for the right reasons, is to look out for the feelings of individual players and their families. I've been in this same situation before. Some have stayed, some have left. This is obviously the first one I've had to deal with here at Wisconsin. What I really tried to do was give him as much unbiased information'or people that were able to give him unbiased information.
I sat down and gave him a detailed transcript of what I felt that I could do as a head coach at the University of Wisconsin, what our athletic department could do with a month-by-month plan if he was to return. That's my responsibility. I also tried to give him the information to make contact with people from the outside world looking in that didn't have an agenda with him. I think he used those resources, him and his father.
The thing that I am really happy about is that I think this was something that's been thought out for a long period of time. You always worry that kids make a quick decision. With the family that he comes from and his support system, going back to his high school coach through coaches he's been in contact with 'within our program as well as other coaches ' I called Bieniemy, too. I don't know if you [Brian] know that. I just wanted to make sure there was a clean decision that was well thought out, and I think that could be appreciated.
