Texas A&M running back Devon Achane declares for the 2023 NFL Draft

Explosive Texas A&M junior running back Devon Achane, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2022, will not return for the Aggies' 2023 season.

Achane on Tuesday announced via Instagram he was forgoing his senior season to enter the 2023 NFL Draft.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Devon T. Achane (@ffvmous.von)

The draft will be held in Kansas City from April 27-29.

The speedy Achane — who qualified for the United States Olympic Trials and earned All-American recognition in the 100m and 200m — leaves A&M with 2,376 career rushing yards, which is 17th on the Aggies’ all-time rushing chart. He rushed for 21 career touchdowns and averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

A four-star recruit out of Fort Bend Marshall in 2020, Achane also caught 65 passes for 554 yards and five touchdowns.

A threat on kickoff returns, Achane averaged 30.6 yards per return. He returned kickoffs for touchdowns against Alabama in 2021 and Appalachian State in 2022.

Achane distinguished himself in his freshman year. He rushed for 364 yards on 43 carries and scored four touchdowns.

He was named Most Valuable Player in A&M’s 41-27 Orange Bowl victory over North Carolina. Achane rushed for 140 yards and scored two touchdowns — including one on a 76-yard run, the longest of his career.

As a sophomore in 2021, Achane averaged seven yards per carry and rushed for 910 yards as a backup to Isaiah Spiller. Achane likely would have surpassed 1,000 yards if A&M’s Gator Bowl matchup with Wake Forest hadn’t been canceled.

Achane rushed for 1,102 yards in 2022 despite missing two games with injury. He exceeded 100 rushing yards in each of the final three games in which he played.

In his last game for A&M, he rushed for a career-high 215 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 38-23 victory over LSU.

Achane will likely become the fourth A&M running back selected in the last five drafts.

Last year, Spiller was taken in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2019, Trayveon Williams was picked in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals, and Cullen Gillaspia  — primarily a special teams player  — was a seventh-round pick by the Houston Texans.