Notre Dame DL Stephon Tuitt to return for senior season

(UPI) -- Fighting Irish junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt said he was coming back for his senior year next season.

“I’m coming back next year,” Tuitt told the school's student newspaper The Observer. “I’m a junior. I still have one year.”

The 6-foot-6, 312-pound lineman, who is projected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, recorded 47 tackles, 12 sacks and nine quarterback hurries for the Fighting Irish this season. His 12 sacks in a single season rank second in Notre Dame history.

Scouts, Inc., rated Tuitt as the No. 14 overall player for the 2014 draft.