Report: James Sample Leaving Louisville And Entering NFL Draft.

It looks like for the second straight season Louisville is going to have to replace a pair of star safeties.

Gerod Holliman and James Sample filling in for and exceeding the production of Calvin Pryor and Hakeem Smith may have been the most pleasant surprise of the 2014 U of L football season. The downside of that is that both are now foregoing their senior seasons and entering the NFL Draft.

Holliman confirmed his decision on Twitter Sunday while Lars Hanson of 247 Sports was the first to report Sample's decision on Monday.

Sample arrived at Louisville just before the start of fall camp, but put to bed any doubts as to whether or not he had enough time to learn Todd Grantham's system by intercepting a pass and notching a team-high 8 tackles in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Miami. The performance would prove to be a sign of things to come, as Sample finished 2014 with 4 interceptions, 8 pass break-ups and a team-leading 90 tackles.

It's hard to blame Sample, who had one season of eligibility remaining at U of L, for taking advantage of the juice currently behind his name. Best of luck to him in the coming months.