Antonio Pittman Is Not Quite Officially Gone

Rumors have been flying for a month or so that Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman would be bolting for the NFL after the Not Fiesta Bowl. As described in a widely-circulated AP article, Pittman was one of four juniors who submitted his name to the NFL's draft advisory board. Buckeye Commentary notes that Allen Trieu's Draft Showcase site has Pittman "officially declared" already. A follow-up email picked up this response from Trieu:

There are internal sources which have indicated that he has filed to leave early but will not announce until after the bowl game. Also, a couple papers have reported that he has filed...but I think they are mistaken. I believe they were confused about the difference between filing for advisory and actually filing for the draft. I am checking in for complete confirmation, but at this time, it is about 98% likely Pittman is entering the draft and that a number of people already know this.

Buckeye Commentary objects to Trieu's characterization of Pittman as "officially" departed, but closes with this:

Make no mistake, Pittman will enter the draft but I'm dubious if he's actually filed already and I'd almost certainly think Ohio State would totally disagree that he's an officially declared underclassman.

He gone.