The Missouri Tigers learned this week that QB Blaine Gabbert would be leaving Mizzou and headed pro to the 2011 NFL draft. We didn't really have a firm idea on whether he'd leave or not but once we saw guys like ESPN's Todd McShay hyping him as the second QB taken, we knew he would probably go.
Gabbert released a statement on Monday announcing the news.
"This is definitely a bittersweet day for me, I was really looking forward to having a chance to do some special things next season with my teammates, but in the end, this is the right decision to make for myself and my family," Gabbert said in the release.
"These last three years have been an unbelievable experience for me, and I'll miss being at Mizzou, but I'm definitely looking forward to this next stage of my life. I'm so grateful to have been part of such a great program and all of the people who have helped me get to this point, and now I have to take what I've learned, and build on that for the next level. I'll always be a Tiger, and I look forward to watching the guys do big things in the future," he said.
Gabbert talked immediately after the Insight Bowl loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes and talked Mizzou being great next year so that had some wondering if that was a hint he's staying. Apparently not.