Slaton Says Seeya To West Virginia

West Virginia running back Steve Slaton is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

I find it pretty amusing that my first posting (besides the one about me) on Bearcat Insider is about a non-Bearcat. But when I heard this about Steve Slaton, I felt like I had to bring it up: The Mountaineer runningback will forego his senior year at WVU to enter the NFL. My first reaction, as a Bearcat fan, was excitement. This is a guy who has shown an ability to tear up opposing defenses. So if he's not facing off against UC next year, how could that not be a good thing? But, upon further review, maybe it's not as big of a positive to Big East opponents as I first thought.

Everytime a guy makes a decision like this, there's always scrutiny and second-guessing. Some are considering it the smartest AND dumbest decision Slaton could make. I don't know about that. As long as his name is called on the first day of the NFL Draft, this is probably a good idea. And Slaton says he's been told he's a second round guy. Add to that the fact that his stock took a hit this year as he ran for about 700 yards less, was a non-factor in West Virginia's two losses, and the Mountaineers clobbered Oklahoma without him. Another sub-par season could drop him down to the later rounds where he'd probably only make the NFL minumum. So, personally, I feel like it's a good move for him.

And I don't think Slaton going to the NFL will drastically change the face of the Big East. While this departure could mean a huge void in the Mountaineer backfield, I doubt it. West Virginia had plenty of big runs against the Sooners after he was hurt in the Fiesta Bowl which shows me someone on their roster should be able to fill that void. Besides, it's too hard to feel like WVU will be "down" as long as they've got Pat White wearing their ugly, yellow uniform.

Go here to sound off about my take!