Running back Byron Sanders, Northwestern University’s first...

Running back Byron Sanders, Northwestern University’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 13 years, apparently has decided not to return to the football team next fall, making him eligible for the 1989 NFL draft.

“Byron told me when we talked on Friday that he will enter the pro draft,” Coach Francis Peay said. “I am not wholly convinced he will, though. I hear conflicting points of view.”

Sanders, who is the older brother of Oklahoma State’s Heisman Trophy winner, Barry Sanders, has a year of eligibility left. Byron Sanders rushed for 1,062 yards, becoming the third Wildcat in history to gain more than 1,000 yards rushing in a season.