GEORGIA FOOTBALL: Defender Allen opts for draft

Georgia’s football team lost its third player in a week to the NFL when junior cornerback Asher Allen said Tuesday he’ll skip his final year to enter the April draft.

Allen said he considered a wide range of factors —- family, finances and risk of injury among them —- before making “the hardest decision of my life.”

In the end, he came to the same conclusion as teammates Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, who announced six days earlier they would leave school early for the NFL.

While Stafford and Moreno are widely projected as first-round picks —- Stafford a possible No. 1 pick —- Allen’s prospects are hazier. Some mock drafts have him going as high as the second round, but others have him rated lower.

Allen wouldn’t reveal which round the NFL’s advisory committee privately projected he would be drafted in, but he predicted his stock will be driven by his performance in workouts for teams.

“Just really try to put yourself in my shoes,” he said of the decision. “You really, really want to play in the NFL. It’s a dream, and you think to yourself you can play.

“The risk of getting hurt and possibly watching it all go away or watching your stock go down —- you have to put all that stuff in the equation and just be real with yourself and the people around you and make the right decision.

“It’s been three weeks of saying, ‘I’m staying. I’m leaving.’ Pros and cons. And this turned out to be the thing to do.”

Allen, a two-year starter, said he leaves with the blessing of Georgia’s coaches, who “just want what’s best for me.”

“We will certainly miss him,” coach Mark Richt said in a statement. “However, we wish him the very best in the NFL draft and with his professional football aspirations.”

Richt was out of town and unavailable for further comment until at least today, Georgia officials said.

Allen made his decision two days before the NFL’s deadline for underclassmen to enter the draft. He said he spent several sleepless weeks talking through the situation with his parents.

“I’m most definitely doing this for my family and for myself,” said Allen, a Tucker High graduate.

“It comes back to, ‘Do you feel you’re ready?’ ” he added. “Which I do.”