USF coach Jim Leavitt said Monday that the school has heard back from the NFL's advisory board for underclassmen considering entering the 2010 draft, and he passed their findings along to junior defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul on Monday morning.

Leavitt will be out of town recruiting for much of the next two days, but he said he will sit down with Pierre-Paul on Thursday to talk more extensively about his decision. Leavitt declined to share where the NFL board told Pierre-Paul he might be drafted, but said the junior has a tough decision to make and that he'll support his player in whatever choice he makes. Despite only one year of major college football, Pierre-Paul has been projected as a potential first-round pick by ESPN.com's two draft experts, Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay.

As we reported last week, junior receiver Carlton Mitchell also submitted his name to the NFL, if only to see where he might be taken, and Leavitt said Monday that he expects Mitchell to be back for his senior year. Mitchell, already the Bulls' career leader in receiving yards, said last week that he intends to be back in 2010.