WR prospect Isaiah Bond leaves Texas for 2025 NFL Draft

Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond told ESPN he will leave school early and enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

Considered one of the fastest players in the upcoming draft, Bond has proven himself to be one of the most explosive players in the country during his three-year college career.

Bond is ranked as the sixth wide receiver in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s NFL Draft rankings. In Texas' win over UTSA this year, he clocked over 22 mph, showing off a rare burst of power that puts him among the fastest echelons in college football.

In his only season at Texas, Bond caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdown catches. He rushed for another 98 yards and a touchdown.

“I'm very grateful for the time I spent at Texas,” Bond told ESPN in a phone interview, citing his fondness for coach Steve Sarkisian. “I told Coach Thacker, 'I'm so grateful that he gave me the opportunity to be on his football team at this great university. I'm grateful and very thankful that he accepted me as one of his own. “

Bond comes to Texas in 2024 from Alabama, where he takes on one of the most iconic plays of the 2023 season. He caught what was dubbed the “gravedigger” pass on fourth-and-31 to beat Auburn with 32 seconds left. The 27-24 victory kept Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes alive and made Bond a household name.

In his three seasons of college football — two at Alabama and one at Texas — Bond had 99 receptions for 1,428 yards and 10 touchdown catches. Array.

Bond, who is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, will show off his speed during the draft process.

“I want to show the team that they're getting the most explosive wide receiver in the draft,” Bond said. “They're getting a guy that's jaw-dropping, a really, really great athlete and a hard worker.”

Bond said joining the NFL has been his dream since he started climbing mountains with his mother, Penny, at age 6. He said he's been lucky enough to be able to do that in just three college seasons, and it's always been his goal.

He called the moment “euphoric” and said he was improving “one percent” every day, which would bring him the “results he wanted.”

Bond plans to train at the Athletic Academy in Frisco, Texas, before the draft. He will work with famed speed trainer Mo Wills on sprint drills and famed wide receivers trainer David Robinson on position drills. He also signed with agent Damian S. Butler.

Bond said he's new to the wide receiver position and feels like he's just getting started.

“Honestly, it all depends on me,” he said. “I don't think I have a ceiling. I didn't start playing wide receiver until my junior year in high school. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of my potential.”