COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina's Bruce Ellington has picked football over basketball, giving up his final season in each sport to enter the NFL draft.
South Carolina defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles and cornerback Victor Hampton also declared for the draft Friday.
And star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney officially declared for the draft, though he made his intentions public following Wednesday's Capitol One Bowl.
Clowney is Scout Inc.'s top overall prospect, but the other former Gamecocks are not expected to be drafted in the first round.
The 5-foot-9 Ellington played point guard for the Gamecocks basketball team and was a receiver on the football squad the past three seasons. But it was on the football field where Ellington had the most success. He led South Carolina with 49 catches for 775 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
He may have had his best game in the ninth-ranked Gamecocks' 34-24 win over No. 19 Wisconsin on Wednesday. He caught six passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns and threw a 9-yard TD pass to South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw.
Ellington played basketball his freshman season before adding football as a sophomore. He has played in three basketball games this season, coming off the bench against Oklahoma State on Dec. 6 and then starting against Manhattan and USC Upstate.
Quarles was an Associated Press second-team All-America selection after leading the Gamecocks with 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
Hampton had three interceptions this season and was named to the AP's All-SEC second team.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
