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Oklahoma Sooners' all-time leading RB Samaje Perine declares for draft

By The Sports Xchange
Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine (32) rushes against Clemson in the first quarter of the College Semifinal Championship Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on on December 31, 2015, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine (32) rushes against Clemson in the first quarter of the College Semifinal Championship Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on on December 31, 2015, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo

Standout Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine announced his intention to enter the 2017 NFL Draft on Tuesday, one day after becoming the school's all-time leading rusher in the Sugar Bowl victory over Auburn.

Perine finishes his college career with 4,122 yards and supplanted 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims (4,119) as Oklahoma's top rusher. Perine entered the contest fifth in school history and passed a relative who's who in Sooners' history while collecting the record, also passing All-Americans Joe Washington (4,071), Adrian Peterson (4,045) and 1969 Heisman winner Steve Owens (4,041) during the 35-19 victory.

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Perine made the announcement on his Instagram page.

"Playing for Oklahoma has been an incredible experience," Perine wrote. "I am so grateful for the opportunity and everyone who been a part of it.

"That being said, after much consideration, I have decided to enter the 2017 NFL draft."

Perine is rated the fifth-best running back and 62nd overall prospect by NFLDraftScout.com.

Perine's junior season was the least productive of his three seasons at Oklahoma. He rushed for 1,060 yards and 12 touchdowns while missing three games due to a leg injury as well as splitting time with sophomore Joe Mixon.

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Perine rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014 and set the FBS single-game rushing record with a 427-yard effort against Kansas. As a sophomore, Perine rushed for 1,349 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Perine is the latest to join a strong list of running backs as part of the 2017 draft.

The list of underclassmen running backs to declare for the draft includes Florida State's Dalvin Cook, LSU's Leonard Fournette, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, Doak Walker Award winner D'Onta Freeman of Texas, Boise State's Jeremy McNichols and Clemson's Wayne Gallman.

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