Sports briefly: Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to enter NFL draft

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa announced Monday that he is entering the NFL draft and closing the book on a college career that began with a splash and ended with a devastating injury.

Now the questions will be about where he'll be drafted instead of if he would turn pro.

Tagovailoa is recovering from right hip surgery in November following an injury on Nov. 16 against Mississippi State that ended projections of the quarterback being the potential No. 1 overall pick.

The serious injury made has made his draft status less clear though Alabama team surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain has said Tagovailoa's prognosis is "excellent" and predicts a full recovery.

In less than two seasons as starter, Tagovailoa set an Alabama record with 87 career touchdown passes and ranks third with 7,442 passing yards.

Badgers' Cephus leaving for NFL

Wisconsin receiver Quintez Cephus announced he will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Cephus led Wisconsin in receptions (59), receiving yards (901) and touchdown receptions (seven) in 2019.

Levi Lewis threw two touchdown passes to Ja'Marcus Bradley, and Louisiana-Lafayette beat Miami of Ohio 27-17 in the LendingTree Bowl. Lewis was 19-for-26 for 246 yards. .... Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and Virginia Tech running back Deshawn McClease are bypassing their senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Tennis: Novak Djokovic won his singles and doubles matches back-to-back to guide Serbia to a 2-1 comeback win over France and secure a spot in the ATP Cup quarterfinals.

Baseball: Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama agreed to a $21 million, three-year deal with the Reds. Akiyama, 31, batted .303 with 31 doubles, 20 homers and 62 RBI last season. ... The Orioles agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with shortstop Jose Iglesias, who hit .288 with 11 homers and 59 RBI with the Reds last season.

College basketball: The Gophers women, who were ranked No. 24 last week, dropped out of the AP Top 25 poll after losing to Nebraska 72-58 on Saturday. UConn cruised to two more conference wins and remained No. 1 to stay ahead of second-ranked Oregon.

... Kaila Charles had 28 points, seven rebounds and four steals to help No. 17 Maryland beat Ohio State 72-62. ... Ali Patberg scored 19 points as No. 12 Indiana beat Illinois 83-42.

Lynx assistant to get Liberty job

Lynx assistant coach Walt Hopkins will be hired as the next head coach of the New York Liberty. Hopkins has been an assistant for the Lynx since 2017. Before his time with Minnesota, Hopkins was the academic coach at Cal and director of basketball operations and player development for the Tulsa Shock.

Former Rams RB Les Josephson dies

Les Josephson, a Minneota, Minn., native who played running back for 10 years in the NFL died on Jan. 1 in Tucson, Ariz. Josephson played at Augustana before signing with Dallas as a free agent in 1964. During training camp, he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams and spent 10 seasons there. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1967.