USF DE Jason Pierre-Paul Still Undecided

According to the St. Pete Times, South Florida Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul’s draft status is still up in the air.

After leading a strong USF defense with two tackles for loss Saturday, after celebrating at midfield with his signature standing back flip, the big question left for DE Jason Pierre-Paul was whether he had played his final game with the Bulls.

“I’m in the middle,” said Pierre-Paul, who said he expects to make a decision about entering the NFL draft in the next week; the deadline for underclassmen is Jan. 15.

ESPN.com’s draft experts have projected Pierre-Paul as a potential first-round pick despite playing only one year of major college football. Colts president Bill Polian was among the NFL personnel in attendance, and Pierre-Paul said he has had a memorable season.

“I came here (to USF) and nobody knew who I was,” he said. “All week in practice, we had fun in Toronto, but all week we practiced hard. The defense made plays, and we executed it in the game.”

Pierre-Paul, a transfer from Fort Scott C.C. in Kansas, is a Florida native, having graduated from Deerfield Beach High School. He burst onto the national scene this year after a dominating performance in an upset win over then nationally-ranked Florida State.

Pierre-Paul finished the season with 42 tackles, six sacks, and an interception. Pierre-Paul is great talent and projects as a first or second round pick.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)