TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State wide receiver N'Keal Harry announced Monday that he'll forgo his senior season to declare for the 2019 NFL draft, but he hasn't decided whether to play in the Sun Devils' bowl game.
"The bowl game discussion hasn't really crossed my mind too much, so far," Harry said. "I'm just worried about enjoying today, celebrating today."
ASU's bowl matchup will be announced Sunday; Harry will prepare to play in that game, coach Herm Edwards said. A final decision will be made later, after the two have a discussion with athletic director Ray Anderson, Edwards said.
Harry, who had 73 catches for 1,088 yards and 9 touchdowns this season, is one of the first underclassmen to declare for next April's draft. He is ranked as the second-best wide receiver in this year's class, behind fellow junior Marquise Brown of Oklahoma, according to ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.
Edwards, who coached in the NFL from 1992 to 2008, said Harry checks all the boxes NFL teams are looking for, not just in a receiver, but in a player.
"He loves to compete," Edwards said. "It's a different football, the next level. It's all about competition and you got to compete every day. It's no longer a hobby. It's your career, and you get judged on performance and how you compete every day.
"Does he love the game of football? He loves the game of football. There's a lot of guys that like what football provides them. They don't really like football. He likes football. He likes to compete. That's the big check. But now they're going to pay you a check and they want to know that the guy they're paying, he really likes this stuff. This is hard. This football thing's hard. It's easy to play in the game. But when you come to work every day, are you preparing to win? He prepares to win."
Harry's decision to leave school early wasn't made until after the Sun Devils beat the University of Arizona in their annual rivalry game Saturday evening, he said. He tried not to think about his future during the season out of respect to his teammates, but once ASU's regular season ended, Harry knew the time was right to leave.
Before that, however, Harry said "a lot of thought" was put into the decision. He had multiple conversations with his family and friends.
"This definitely was not an easy decision," Harry said. "I truly do love this university. This place is giving me opportunities that I only dreamt of and I'm forever thankful for that."
Edwards said he and Anderson could help Harry find an agent when the time is right, which would be the next step for Harry to take toward the NFL.
"I feel like now that I have an opportunity to go out and get my dreams, I feel like I need to do that," Harry said. "Every day I'm working on myself as person and every day I'm working on myself as a player. I just want to improve day by day and I feel like the NFL is a good opportunity to do that."
