Tar Heels' Wideout Nicks Bound For NFL Draft

Chapel Hill, NC (AHN) - North Carolina announced Monday that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks will join the pro ranks after three record-setting seasons at Chapel Hill.

Nicks has long been in the eyes of NFL scouts following a monster year in which he caught 1,222 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. His 94 yards per game is tops in the ACC and 12th in the nation.

Tar Heels coach Butch Davis, who's had NFL contacts following his coaching stints at Dallas and Cleveland, said Nicks played his best when the stakes were highest.

Nicks is in prime position to be a first-day draft selection, according to Davis, and the receiver's lofty credentials back up his coach's claim.

For his career, Nicks racked up 181 receptions for 2,580 receiving yards for 21 touchdowns. These numbers were just some of the 14 school records he set at Chapel Hill.

Nicks also posted 100-yard games 10 times in his career, half of which occurred in 2008. In the last game of his career, he set a Meineke bowl record of 217 yards and three touchdowns as the Tar Heels lost 31-30 to West Virginial.