Rice defensive tackle Christian Covington, who missed the final five games of the season with a knee injury, reportedly will declare for the draft.
ESPN's Joe Schad tweeted the news Monday morning.
Covington had surgery Nov. 11 for a dislocated kneecap. At the time, the Houston Chronicle reported that he would need six months of rehab. Thus, the potential would seem to exist that he wouldn't be able to do any pre-draft workouts.
Covington (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) was one of the best defensive linemen outside the Power Five conferences and might have been the most talented player in Conference USA. Covington, a Canadian, has good strength and athleticism, and also possesses some big-play ability; he had 12.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss in his three seasons. His dad, Grover Covington, is in the CFL Hall of Fame as a defensive end.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.