Stanford’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside says he’ll enter NFL draft

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JJ Arcega-Whiteside, one of the top wide receivers in Stanford history, announced Friday he’ll skip his final year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

In making the announcement on Twitter, he thanked his teammates and coaches, his family in South Carolina and “those overseas — especially my birthplace of Zaragoza, Spain” for their support.

Both his parents were professional basketball players in Europe. Arcega-Whiteside — the JJ stands for Jose Joaquin — lived in Spain, Portugal and Italy before the family moved to South Carolina when he was 6.

Arcega-Whiteside was selected as the Cardinal’s most valuable player this season after making 63 catches for 1,059 yards. He tied James Lofton’s 1977 school record of 14 touchdown catches.

Arcega-Whiteside has been using his 6-foot-3 height and leaping ability to make great catches since the UCLA game of 2016, when he made a leaping, game-winning catch with 24 seconds left.

He finished his career with 135 catches for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside tied James Lofton’s 1977 Stanford record of 14 TD catches. JJ Arcega-Whiteside tied James Lofton’s 1977 Stanford record of 14 TD catches. Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Stanford’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside says he’ll enter NFL draft 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

— Tom FitzGerald

More declarations: Georgia’s offense was hit with a four-player exodus of juniors to the NFL that took away the team’s top three receivers and second-leading rusher: Tailback Elijah Holyfield, tight end Isaac Nauta and wide receivers Riley Ridley and Mecole Hardman.

Ridley is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons rookie Calvin Ridley. Holyfield is the son of former boxing champion Evander Holyfield.

Also Friday, freshman tight end Luke Ford, from Carterville, Ill., announced on Twitter he is transferring to Illinois “due to my grandparents’ deteriorating health and my family’s inability to afford to see me play in person each week.”

•Notre Dame All-America cornerback Julian Love and tight end Alize Mack are forgoing their final seasons of eligibility and entering the NFL draft.

Obituary: George Welsh, who coached football at Virginia for 19 years and retired as the ACC’s career victories leader, died in Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday at 85.

Welsh compiled a 134-86-3 record at Virginia from 1982-2000, guiding the Cavaliers to their first 12 bowl games and their only No. 1 ranking in 1990. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

A former quarterback at Navy who finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior, Welsh coached the Midshipmen from 1973-81, compiling a 55-46-1 record.