Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard reportedly coming back for senior season

Viewed as one of the Big Ten's top draft-eligible prospects in the secondary, Michigan State junior cornerback Darqueze Dennard told Mike Griffith of MLive.com on Thursday that he expects to return to East Lansing instead of heading pro.

The 5'11, 188-pound cornerback will face a tough task this Saturday against TCU's explosive aerial attack in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, but he informed MLive.com that he hasn't even been thinking about the NFL Draft like some of his fellow underclassmen. Instead, Dennard says he didn't even bother to submit his name to the NFL College Advisory Committee at all, an act seen by many as a prerequisite for entering the draft pool.

"I wasn't one of the people who submitted for that,'' Dennard said. "It isn't a definite decision, but right now I am coming back for my senior season.''

While Mark Dantonio's defense would sorely miss Dennard's elite athleticism on the outside next year, it appears the talented cornerback is hardly satisfied by his team's dismal campaign in 2012 first and foremost. Dennard could still put forth a standout performance on Saturday and rethink his position entirely, but right now, this is promising news for a Michigan State program that could potentially lose a number of key players this offseason.