For Artie Burns, an emotional season at Miami ended on Saturday afternoon. It turns out that Sun Bowl loss to Washington State also marked the end of Burns' career as a Hurricane.
The junior defensive back, who finished the season with an ACC-high six interceptions, issued a statement on Monday declaring his intent to enter the NFL Draft, and a source confirmed to the Sun Sentinel that Burns had spoken to new Miami coach Mark Richt and informed him of his decision.
In October, Burns' mother, Dana Smith, died after a heart attack. Burns cited her passing as part of his decision to go pro.