UMass tight end Jean Sifrin has decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL draft, the school announced Tuesday.
"As a program, we are very happy for Jean to have this chance to pursue his goals at the NFL level," coach Mark Whipple said in a statement. "When we spoke, we told him that we supported his decision because of how it can benefit him and his family."
Sifrin, 27, played only one season with the Minutemen after transferring from El Camino College in Torrance, California. The 6-foot-7, 250-pounder finished the 2014 season with 41 catches for 637 yards and six touchdowns -- good for second on the team in each category.
The Miami native was fifth nationally in receiving yards by a tight end and posted two 100-yard games, despite not being cleared to play until Week 2 against Colorado. Sifrin was an All Mid-American Conference first-team choice.
If he’s selected in May’s draft, Sifrin would be the third member of the Minutemen to be drafted in the past three years after Michael Cox (Giants, seventh round) and Rob Blanchflower (Steelers, seventh round) heard their names called in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Sifrin does not appear in the ESPN NFL draft database, and was not listed among Mel Kiper’s latest top 10 (Insider) at the tight end position.
Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.
