Henry Josey told Missourinet.com after the Cotton Bowl, he would make a swift decision on his future.
Missouri junior running back Henry Josey of Angleton, Texas will skip his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2014 NFL Draft. Josey, named the offensive player of the game in Mizzou’s 41-31 win over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, joins fellow teammate, junior Kony Ealy in declaring for the draft.
Josey is only the second Mizzou running back to post two 1,000-yard seasons. He ran for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore in 2011 before his season-ending knee injury in game ten against Texas. He missed all of the 2012 season before returning in 2013.
In a statement released through the University, Josey said, “This is really a bittersweet decision to make. I’m so grateful to Mizzou and my coaches and teammates and fans for all of their support and everything they’ve meant to me these past four years. It’s difficult to think I won’t be with them next year. But I’m really excited to have a chance to play professionally and work on fulfilling a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. I can’t possibly express how much I owe to so many people for helping me get to this position, my doctors, trainers, strength coaches, everyone who pushed me and helped me and believed in me, and of course my coaches for trusting me. To the Mizzou fans, thanks so much for all of your prayers and thoughts the past couple of years, you truly inspired me to get back on the field. I’m going to miss my teammates but I know they’ll do great things and I will always be a Mizzou Tiger.”
Head Coach Gary Pinkel supports Josey’s decision.
“Henry Josey is a first-class person any way you cut it, and anytime you take that out of your program, it leaves a void,” said Pinkel. “He is such an amazing competitor, and I’ve said time and again just how inspiring he has been for our team the last two years. We were so proud of him for overcoming everything he had to deal with, and to be such a positive influence on and off the field. We’re going to miss him, no question, but Henry wants to pursue his dream of playing professionally and we wish him nothing but the best and we’ll do everything we can to help him reach that goal.”
