Briscoe to leave KU for NFL Draft

LAWRENCE — Kansas wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe announced today at a news conference that he will declare for the 2010 NFL Draft.

Briscoe said he talked with his mom before the Missouri game and sat down with former KU coach Mark Mangino and his assistants on Monday before making his decision.

"The Kansas program has really done a lot for me," Briscoe said. "There's no other school I'd rather have been at. I just want to think the University of Kansas for the opportunity to play for their football team."

Briscoe also said losing his quarterback, departing senior Todd Reesing, was a factor.

"I took consideration in that," Briscoe said. "Todd, being my quarterback all three years I've been here, a remarkable guy. I don't really have that kind of chemistry with the incoming quarterbacks or quarterbacks that are already here, so that helped me in my decision."

Briscoe, a 6-foot-3 junior from Dallas who caught 84 passes for 1,337 yards and nine touchdowns, is the Jayhawks' career leader in receiving yards with 3,240. He is second to Kerry Meier on KU's career receptions list with 219.

Thursday night, after Mangino resigned, Briscoe said the news would not affect his decision about whether to turn pro a year early or return for his senior season.

Briscoe was suspended by Mangino in the spring for missing classes and was forced to sit out the season-opener this fall. He has said he needed a tough coach and supported Mangino until the end.

"He recruited me," Briscoe said. "Obviously, he was a great coach to me. He's done a lot of stuff for this program. Some things he did for a reason. Coaches are gonna be coaches. They can't be the nicest people on earth to try to get the team motivated to win games. You gotta do certain things to your players."

This story was originally published December 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Briscoe to leave KU for NFL Draft."