Rising quarterback prospect Colin Kaepernick has declined the NFL's invitation to attend next week's draft in New York, saying he preferred to "spend that time with my family."
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The former University of Nevada star on Tuesday told FoxSports.com he was thankful for the invite but wanted to be around his "support system" during the April 28-30 draft.
"It's definitely a great opportunity, and I'm honored to be asked to go to New York, but at the same time it's something where I should stay at home and spend that time with my family," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity type of thing, and going to New York, but my whole family wouldn't be able to go, my whole support system. So I just thought it would be right to be at home with them."
Kaepernick, a mobile, strong-armed, 6-foot-5 quarterback who's projected by most draft analysts to be a second-round selection, threw for 10,098 yards and 82 touchdowns with just 24 interceptions and ran for 4,112 yards and 59 more scores in four seasons as a starter for Nevada. He received the invitation Friday.
Kaepernick also declined to have NFL Network or ESPN spend draft day with him at his home in Turlock, Calif.
"I thought it was something that I should spend with them. I want it to be a personal moment with my family," he said. "There was a lot of hard work by my family to help get me where I'm at right now. So, I wanted the whole day to be something that we could spend together and just really be ourselves and hang out."