ALTOONA, Pa. -- Nick Tarburton is ready to move on from college football and try his luck in the NFL, but not until after the defensive end participates in the Rose Bowl.
Tarburton announced late Saturday night that he is declaring for the draft, despite having one more season of eligibility left in college. He redshirted in 2018 but could have returned for a sixth season since all players were granted an extra year because of COVID in 2020.
Instead, the 6-foot-3, 258 pounder will move on and see if he can make it in the pros. He made his announcement on Instagram.
Tarburton is not expected to be selected in the NFL draft. Here's his prospect page from NFL Mock Draft database, which ranks him as the 595th best prospect for the draft and slotted as an undrafted free agent.
Tarburton, who has battled injuries during his career, has played in 34 games for Penn State. That includes starting all 12 games this season and playing in all 13 last year.
For his career, he has 50 tackles (25 solo) with three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Tarburton came to Penn State as 4-star recruit out of Pennridge High School in Perkasie. He was rated the No. 10 prospect in Pennsylvania for the class of 2018 by 247Sports.
