Chris Boyd had 774 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 2012. (USATSI)
Chris Boyd had 774 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 2012. (USATSI)
Former Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd has elected not to transfer to a new program after his September dismissal and will instead enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

"Basically, [I] just thought if I was ready to make this jump, and it came down to me just believing in my talents, and also knowing I'll be having my degree from Vanderbilt here in May," Boyd told NFL.com, who reported the decision. "I felt like after how everything went, it was just time to move on to bigger and better things."

Boyd was dismissed from the Commodore program after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor accessory charge in the rape investigation that resulted in the arrest of four of Boyd's former teammates on sexual battery charges. As part of his plea deal, Boyd agreed to assist prosecutors with the case after the prosecution alleged the junior from Roswell, Ga. "was not completely truthful with the police" concerning conversations he had had with the accused players.

Boyd was allowed to stay on scholarship, however, and will finish his class work in December. Finishing his degree would have allowed him to play for his new program without sitting out a transfer season, and Boyd said either Wisconsin or Penn State would have been his likely destination. 

But Boys will test the draft waters instead. In his two seasons with the Commodores, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Boyd collected 1,247 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 81 receptions, joining Jordan Matthews in forming one of the SEC's most potent receiving tandems.

Boyd was rated the No. 42 wideout in the 2015 draft class by NFLDraftScout.com.