Gators' Floyd enters draft

FORMER Daily News Public League Player of the Year Sharrif Floyd said he will leave the University of Florida for the NFL draft.

"It's a blessing that I'm going to get a chance to do what a lot of players want to do," Floyd told Florida Today. "My dream is going to come true."

Floyd, who graduated from George Washington High, said his successful junior season with the Gators influenced his decision.

"The fact that my coaches gave me their blessing and said, 'Go, you're ready, good luck to you,' " Floyd told the newspaper. "If I didn't get that from them, I wouldn't be leaving. I care about what my coaches think and how they feel about me. But I'm moving on now."

Floyd twice earned first team Daily News All-City honors while starring for Washington and in 2009, following his senior season, he was named the Public League Player of the Year.

That year he was honored as a defensive lineman; offensive line as a junior.

While pacing the Eagles to their third consecutive Pub crown (overall in '07, AAAA in '08 and '09), he made 60 tackles. Thirty-six, with eight sacks among them, were made behind the line. He also batted down five passes, forced two fumbles and blocked five punts along with a field-goal attempt.

He participated in national all-star games in Hawaii and Texas.

NFL draft guru Mel Kiper sees Floyd, recently tabbed by the Daily News as the city's best defensive lineman over the last 35 seasons, as a first-round pick (at No. 24).