Stay or go? Metcalf's decision hasn't been made, dad says
D.K. Metcalf’s season is over.
Is his Ole Miss career?
His father, former Ole Miss and NFL standout Terrence Metcalf, said Tuesday it’s a decision Ole Miss’ star wide receiver hasn’t made.
“One thing we had talked about at the beginning of the year was playing it by ear and seeing how things shaped up at the end of the season,” the elder Metcalf, now the offensive line coach at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College, said. “It came to this, so now we’ll just wait until I wrap up the season down here at Pearl River and sit down as a family.”
Metcalf suffered a neck injury in the first quarter of Ole Miss’ 37-33 win over Arkansas in Little Rock this past Saturday. Ole Miss coach Matt Luke announced Metcalf’s status Monday.
"It was early in the first quarter after our first drive,” Luke said. “We noticed it right away. They initially just thought it was kind of a whiplash-type thing, but we got back and did the MRI and everything, and it came back (Sunday).
“Long-term, he is going to be fine, but I think it's going to require surgery. We're still looking to make sure we have the very best care and everything for him. It's not a long-term issue, but it is going to be one where he'll be done for the season. It has nothing to do with the spinal, it's all vertebrae, but again long-term he is going to be fine. It’s just something that will prevent him from playing for the rest of the season.”
Metcalf said in the wake of the injury, he and his son haven’t talked about whether D.K. will return to Ole Miss for his junior year (Metcalf is a third-year, draft-eligible sophomore) or declare for the 2019 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Metcalf, an Oxford product, has recorded 67 receptions for 1,228 yards and 12 touchdowns at Ole Miss.
The injury, Terrence Metcalf said, won’t factor into his son’s decision.
“We haven’t really discussed it as a family, but to me personally, I don’t think it does,” Metcalf said. “From what I’ve been hearing I don’t think it hinders any decision we’ll make as a family. You have to do what’s best for him and I’m going to make sure he’s crossed all his T’s and dotted all his I’s. We’re going to do what’s best for DeKaylin.”
As of last week, CBS Sports had Metcalf ranked as the No. 27 draft-eligible prospect.
“Because of his ridiculous size-athleticism combination and production, I've had him as the first receiver off the board in my last three mock drafts,” CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso wrote Monday. “Another year at Ole Miss would probably lock Metcalf into the Round 1 of the 2020 Draft, when he'd be 22.3 years old, around the normal age for a rookie in the NFL.
“But I don't think it's totally out of the question for him to go within the first 32 selections in the 2019 Draft. Of course that'll hinge on the severity of his injury, and how he checks out with independent and team doctors during the pre-draft process. If healthy enough to participate, he'll have a huge combine.”