Jones Headed to NFL, Curran Could Follow

Georgia safety Reshad Jones is headed to the NFL, and it’s expected that linebacker Rennie Curran will follow suit. Both players will hold a teleconference with media today to announce their decisions.

(UPDATE: UGA says no teleconference is scheduled and that Curran has yet to make a decision. Reshad Jones will meet with reporters today at 2 p.m.)

Jones, who flirted with the NFL last year before ultimately deciding to return to school, said he will definitely enter the NFL draft this year after finishing second on the team with 68 tackles and making three interceptions.

Jones said he has not yet hired an agent or decided where to train, but he expected to do so within “the next couple of days.”

A year ago, Jones said input from a few former Georgia players and the wishes of his family kept him in school. This time around, he said he has their full support, particularly from family members whom he talked with extensively before making up his mind.

“They really just want the best for me,” Jones said. “We sat down and talked about it and they said I was ready, too.”

Jones said his evaluation from the NFL was “good enough for me,” but said he didn’t wish to discuss the evaluation further.

While the decision for Jones was ultimately an easy one, he said, that didn’t seem to be the same feeling within the locker room.

“Everybody knows it’s best for him to come back,” fellow safety Bryan Evans said before Georgia’s bowl game. “He has the potential to go higher next year than this year. But it’s up to him. If he feels this is his time to go, he’ll make that decision for himself.”

Curran led the SEC in tackles with 122 this year and will be a part of the teleconference, Jones said, but he could not confirm Curran’s final decision about the NFL.

Georgia still does not have a defensive coordinator hired, and defensive tackles coach Rodney Garner had said following the Bulldogs’ bowl game that he hoped both players would wait until that decision was made before making up their minds on the NFL. At the time, that is something both Curran and Jones said they planned to do.