Rashard Higgins not likely to return to CSU after bowl

Sorry CSU fans, Rashard Higgins isn’t coming back.

The best receiver to ever play for the Rams will play his last game in the green and gold Tuesday, when Colorado State University (7-5) faces Nevada (6-6) in the Arizona Bowl in Tucson.

Higgins hasn’t actually said what his future holds. But it’s hard to imagine him sticking around to play another year of college football, given all that he’s already accomplished and his desire to move his mother out of the public housing project in Dallas where he grew up.

STEPHENS: Rashard Higgins brought his proud mother to tears

The NFL is calling, and Higgins is ready to move on. He’s projected as a third- to fourth-round draft pick by most analysts, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper rating him the 10th-best receiver available, should he chose to make him himself eligible.

“I haven’t made any decisions, but you all stayed tuned for that,” he said after a Dec. 17 practice.

There’s really nothing more for the 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior to prove by sticking around for another season. Although he took out an insurance policy through the NCAA’s program for “exceptional athletes,” based on potential future earnings, that would cover him should he suffer a career-ending injury this season or next, he would need to spend at least four more semesters in school to earn his degree, he said.

Higgins already is the Rams’ all-time leader in receptions (230) and touchdown catches (31), and he’s No. 2 in receiving yards (3,520), with a chance to break David Anderson’s record (3,634) in the Arizona Bowl. Higgins had 194 receiving yards, a career-high, on 10 catches with two touchdowns the last time he went up against Nevada’s defense. CSU won that game last year in Reno 31-24.

HONORS: Rashard Higgins is CSU's only first-team All-MW selection

The Wolf Pack, Higgins said, have a lot of the same players in their secondary that they had a year ago, and the CSU receiver is hoping to once again get the best of them. It’s in the game plan, first-year coach Mike Bobo and quarterback Nick Stevens said.

“We obviously have a plan to get him the ball and move him around and put him in some different spots,” Bobo said. “But then you’ve got to see how Nevada’s going to play. … We’ll have an initial plan, and then we’ve got to be able to adjust to get him the ball. But he’s always a primary focus for us, trying to get him some touches.”

Higgins has been limited some by minor injuries this season. He had a sore hamstring during spring practices, a pulled groin muscle in fall camp and a sprained foot that kept him out of a game early in the season. Still, his 66 catches are more than double that of any other CSU receiver, as are his 933 receiving yards. With eight touchdowns and one catch for a two-point conversion, he’s the team’s second leading scorer, trailing only kicker Wyatt Bryan.

He had three 100-yard receiving games in a row early in the season and two more late in the year, as his health improved. He had 100 or more receiving yards in 10 of the 12 games he played for the Rams last season.

He doesn’t have the school’s career passing leader, Garrett Grayson, throwing to him anymore, and he’s a focal point of every CSU opponent’s defensive game plan.

“He’s still a terrific football player,” Nevada coach Brian Polian said. “… He’s very impactful.”

WATCH: CSU coach Mike Bobo on Rashard Higgins, Nick Stevens

Higgins said during practices for the bowl game that he’s “100 percent” healthy for the first time this season.

“He’s really been practicing well the last four to five weeks,” Bobo said. “… He seems focused and locked in, and I see him really getting his speed back and his strength.”

He’s moving back up in the draft rankings, too. Higgins is rated anywhere from No. 10 to No. 14 among receivers available in the 2016 draft, should he declare himself eligible.

High enough to be certain he’ll be selected, unlike record-breaking running back Kapri Bibbs in the 2014 NFL draft or Dee Hart in 2015.

Bobo said he and others at CSU will do their "due diligence" to determine where Higgins might be selected in order to help him reach a decision.

There's a good chance he's already made up his mind. He's probably got just one game left as a Ram, and he hopes to make it memorable.

“Looking at film, I still remember some of the cornerbacks and some of the guys that I went against, so it should be a good matchup,” Higgins said. “… I know they’ll be coming at me with a vengeances because of what I did to them last year, so it’ll be fun.”

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news

•Next up: Nevada vs. CSU, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Arizona Stadium, Tucson

•Watch: KDVR (Channel 31 in Denver), CampusInsiders.com

•Live chat: Join Kelly Lyell and Matt L. Stephens beginning at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 29 at Coloradoan.com. Share your own commentary and questions about the game

•Twitter updates: @KellyLyell, @MattStephens