What do you think, is it OK for top NFL prospects to skip their college Bowl games ?

[Mollywhopper]

I don't give a **** about anyone but me and my kid. Great attitude to have. Poor kid has to ride in a king ranch. Man, I got a lot of stuff to tie up before I go on vacation till after the 1st of the year, but my kids are on break and they are the only ones I owe anything to. **** it I'm going home. Plus if I stress to much I increase my chance of having a heart attack, then what will my wife and kids do?

Crazy that it isn't that hard to compartmentalize the context of what he was getting at with that quote.

Hell, even his teammates can, as they support his decision. But hey, gs27 on a message board doesn't think he's done enough for his team. Guess he should risk it then.

 

[gs27]

Crazy that it isn't that hard to compartmentalize the context of what he was getting at with that quote.

Hell, even his teammates can, as they support his decision. But hey, gs27 on a message board doesn't think he's done enough for his team. Guess he should risk it then.

What do you think he was getting at with that quote?

And do you think any of his teammates would call him out publically?

 

[Mollywhopper]

What do you think he was getting at with that quote?

Not that he doesn't give a sh*t about anyone else.

But I guess you glossed over the rest of what I wrote.

 

[gs27]

Not that he doesn't give a sh*t about anyone else.

But I guess you glossed over the rest of what I wrote.

So you don't have any explanation for what he meant?

Do you really think his teammates are happy about playing their final game against a very good team without their best player? I remember players missing games or even practices to study for exams. I understood that the exams were more important to their future than that particular practice or game but it still would irritate me. I was at practice and had the same exam schedule, why couldn't they make the same sacrifice. LSU and Stanford has more players entering the draft, what about those kids, should they sit out as well? I am sure most of them are not to happy about it but no one is going to be the whiny ***** to the public.

 

[Mollywhopper]

So you don't have any explanation for what he meant?

That he certainly prioritizes his daughter, and her future, over everyone else in his life. Like the vast majority of parents.

Somehow you got that he doesn't give a sh*t about anyone else. Which is clearly not what he said or meant.

Do you really think his teammates are happy about playing their final game against a very good team without their best player? I remember players missing games or even practices to study for exams. I understood that the exams were more important to their future than that particular practice or game but it still would irritate me. I was at practice and had the same exam schedule, why couldn't they make the same sacrifice. LSU and Stanford has more players entering the draft, what about those kids, should they sit out as well? I am sure most of them are not to happy about it but no one is going to be the whiny ***** to the public.

I think his teammates, by their own words, understand and support his decision.

I don't think a player should make this decision unless they've solidified their draft stock as close to as high as they can get it. Fournette's done that. Those other players haven't.

 

[gs27]

That he certainly prioritizes his daughter, and her future, over everyone else in his life. Like the vast majority of parents.

Somehow you got that he doesn't give a sh*t about anyone else. Which is clearly not what he said or meant.



I think his teammates, by their own words, understand and support his decision.

I don't think a player should make this decision unless they've solidified their draft stock as close to as high as they can get it. Fournette's done that. Those other players haven't.

Only person I owe anything to means you only owe one person. Sorry, personally I believe everyone owes everyone, otherwise we are not a society and you certainly can not have a successful team filled with players who feel they do not owe their teammates anything.

 

[Mollywhopper]

Only person I owe anything to means you only owe one person. Sorry, personally I believe everyone owes everyone, otherwise we are not a society and you certainly can not have a successful team filled with players who feel they do not owe their teammates anything.

That's why I said the context. I imagine he felt attacked by haters and so he reinforced his position with the word 'only'.

By all accounts he's been an absolutely terrific teammate.

 

[bah007]

These guys are going about it wrong. Announcing early that they were gonna sit is just ready made drama. Football purists are going to question their love of the game. It MAY affect their draft stock. What good can come out of announcing something like this? They should have just sustained a "groin injury" or an "ankle sprain" to keep them out of the game and no one would raise an eyebrow. This is going to haunt them tho.

Agree. Man up and have that talk with your coaches and teammates. Talk about what's going through your head and create a strategy for moving forward.

Leave the media out of it. And certainly don't tell the "fans".

 

[Texecutioner]

Soooo you want a young man to risk his future, for a meaningless bowl game, so the networks and their sponsors and the NCAA can keep making millions (which the young man gets NONE of by the way) and the kid gets "a degree" that may or may not turn into a paying job.

#1. The student athletes aren't entitled to making any money. THis isn't the pros so I won't waste time going down that rabbit hole of nonsense. They can can go play pro football if they'd like in other countries. Playing for free in college football will be a much better platform for them though, so they have that decision. And spare me with the risk of playing in that bowl game, because there is a risk in every game he plays in that season. The sport is football, and its a risky sport with dangerous collisions. If he can play in week 10 of the season, then what is one or two more games? Oh, he can't play in the most important game? Sorry, the athlete isn't there for name recognition. He is there for play recognition and for the potential excitement he can bring to fans of the game. That is why he has a platform in the first place. You are confused with why he is there from the school's perspective? The school isn't guaranteeing him any help with his draft status. He is there to help the school's athletic program in return for a free tuition.

Said player knows (or must feel pretty strongly) that his NFL draft status will translate into cash - more than most of us will make - but that "degree" you keep going on about... there's no guarantee it will turn into a job.

If you are going to act ignorant and act like a degree won't get him a job, then why waste time and even post? You know good and well a college degree will get him a job unless he doesn't want one. Didn't you say you worked for NASA? A guy working at NASA is certainly intelligent enough to know that a college graduate can get a job, and a pretty good job that he can make a living with.

 

[ObsiWan]

#1. The student athletes aren't entitled to making any money. THis isn't the pros so I won't waste time going down that rabbit hole of nonsense. They can can go play pro football if they'd like in other countries. Playing for free in college football will be a much better platform for them though, so they have that decision. And spare me with the risk of playing in that bowl game, because there is a risk in every game he plays in that season. The sport is football, and its a risky sport with dangerous collisions. If he can play in week 10 of the season, then what is one or two more games? Oh, he can't play in the most important game? Sorry, the athlete isn't there for name recognition. He is there for play recognition and for the potential excitement he can bring to fans of the game. That is why he has a platform in the first place. You are confused with why he is there from the school's perspective? The school isn't guaranteeing him any help with his draft status. He is there to help the school's athletic program in return for a free tuition.

You're right, football is a risky sport. So, at the end of his "useful life" to the school he makes a risk vs. risk decision. Say the kid is a senior that means, at 11 games/season, he's already played 44 games. He decides to pass on the last one. Now 44 out of 45 games is 97.8%. So you want to crucify the kid for that 2.2%. You should be more pissed at the kids who get to come out as juniors.
Although I think at least one of these kids might be a junior.

If you are going to act ignorant and act like a degree won't get him a job, then why waste time and even post? You know good and well a college degree will get him a job unless he doesn't want one. Didn't you say you worked for NASA? A guy working at NASA is certainly intelligent enough to know that a college graduate can get a job, and a pretty good job that he can make a living with.

You're twisting my words. I never said he won't get a job, I said there's no guarantee. And there's certainly no guarantee he'll get the kind of bucks - assuming he gets badly hurt in that last game, which is the reason he's sitting out this game - he'll make if he comes to the draft fully healthy.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Lucky]

This is about a tiny percentage of players who risk s big payday via their draft position. The overwhelming majority of players want to play, knowing this will likely be their last football game. The majority of players that will be drafted will want to make an impression going into the draft process. This is really just a whole lot of nothing.

 

[Texecutioner]

This is about a tiny percentage of players who risk s big payday via their draft position. The overwhelming majority of players want to play, knowing this will likely be their last football game. The majority of players that will be drafted will want to make an impression going into the draft process. This is really just a whole lot of nothing.

For now. This year. I guarantee you that this trend will grow heavily, and the last bowl game will turn into the game before the bowl game as well at some point for some. People already have the asinine idea to pay college players and make them a pro football league.

 

[xtruroyaltyx]

Regarding the academics part of college football, there are some coaches that genuinely care how you do....but man, a lot of coaches, imo, only care about your grades in so much as you stay eligible to play.

Yeah, it's completely the athletes fault for not taking school seriously. But some of the biggest forces in your life arent doing things to reinforce that.

So yeah, I'm completely with these guys who have millions on the line and go this route. The school and the coaches use you for their gain, and the players are using them for their gain. Whatever that gain may be...for some it's actually an education...for some, it's getting to the NFL. For some it's the love of playing...and there could be a mixture of Two or all three.

Of course everyone is going to have an opinion about it and mine isn't better than anyone else's. I just can't fault these guys for taking off....

Now whether this is actually wise considering how NFL teams may see it....that's another story....

 

[xtruroyaltyx]

Do you really think his teammates are happy about playing their final game against a very good team without their best player?

It depends I think.

Every football team is different. Even mostly the same guys from year to year.

And then they all don't share on brain. Some guys could be upset by it, some guys may understand and support it.

Collectively they might truly have a next man up attitude.
On a bad team with only one great player they may take it harder.

Like when ICE box on the little giants decided she'd rather cheer instead of play ball...

But on a top program loaded with talent they may not care nearly as much.

 

[Mollywhopper]

These guys are going about it wrong. Announcing early that they were gonna sit is just ready made drama. Football purists are going to question their love of the game. It MAY affect their draft stock. What good can come out of announcing something like this? They should have just sustained a "groin injury" or an "ankle sprain" to keep them out of the game and no one would raise an eyebrow. This is going to haunt them tho.

Agree. Man up and have that talk with your coaches and teammates. Talk about what's going through your head and create a strategy for moving forward.

Leave the media out of it. And certainly don't tell the "fans".

Kinda wonder if this is what we're seeing (or not seeing) from Jabrill Peppers tonight?

 

[WolverineFan]

Kinda wonder if this is what we're seeing (or not seeing) from Jabrill Peppers tonight?

He pulled his hamstring on Thursday during a kick return simulation. The team knew Friday morning he wouldn't be able to play. They hid it from the media and had him go through walkthroughs to keep FSU unaware.

Peppers missed his first 2 bowl games because of injuries. I can promise you he didn't skip this one voluntarily.

 

[ObsiWan]

For now. This year. I guarantee you that this trend will grow heavily, and the last bowl game will turn into the game before the bowl game as well at some point for some. People already have the asinine idea to pay college players and make them a pro football league.

What's your numerical prediction for how many sit out bowl games next year.
Not the exact number just a guess-timate range. Are you talking five or six?
A dozen? A hundred?
Just curious as to what you think "will grow heavily" actually means.

 

[Speedy]

If he can play in week 10 of the season, then what is one or two more games? Oh, he can't play in the most important game?

Except meaningless bowl games aren't "the most important game". Other than the money the schools receive playing in the bowl games, LSU's win today meant nothing. San Diego State's win meant nothing. These aren't even games that effect their positions with regards to conference or national titles. They're exhibitions. I don't have the numbers for today and yesterday, but through Thursday's bowl games not one single bowl game has sold out and 9 bowl games have had less than 50% capacity. Hell, in the LSU game today, they didn't even open the upper deck and the lower bowl looked about half full.

You go to college to give yourself a chance to have a better future, whether that be by getting a degree or for a select few, playing professional sports. So if you're a guy who has a chance for a big payday playing professional sports, playing in a meaningless bowl game that hardly anybody is watching, doesn't benefit your future in any way.

You get can all mad because it's sports and team and blah, blah, blah, but none of that really matters. It really doesn't. These are young men who have their whole lives ahead of them, they've got to make a living. A Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl has no meaning, and unlike a college student getting a degree, an injury in a meaningless bowl game could significantly impact the future of an athlete. Sure you could get injured in week 10, but week 10 still has meaning. You're still working towards your future.

 

[Mollywhopper]

You see what happened to Jake Butt there and you understand why some people don't play in their bowl games. Although, this game is important enough in which I'd expect people to play in it regardless.

Report: Michigan TE Jake Butt tears ACL in his last game, the Orange Bowl

Michigan tight end Jake Butt tore his ACL in the Wolverines' 33-32 loss to Florida State in Friday night's Orange Bowl, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Butt suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Michigan loss and now will have to have surgery to repair the tear.

The injury will keep him from participating in the NFL Draft process as he recovers from surgery, which will likely cause him to drop on draft boards. He was ranked as the third best tight end prospect in this draft and projected as a second round pick on CBS Sports' draft prospect rankings.

These things are rare, they say ... what are the odds, they say ...

I'll not hold it against a single one of these kids ever for looking out for their futures.

 

[mussop]

Have to question the love of the game of anyone that wants to skip one of their teams biggest games thinking about money

Lol. Easy to say when it's not you. I seriously don't see how anyone could have this opinion.

Scenario. You have a winning lotto ticket. It expires in two hours. Problem is you are on a bowling team that has a championship game fixing to start and youre the teams best player. What do you do?

You're talking about players risking their dreams and future for a single meaningless game. That's insane.

 

[Texansphan]

I have no problem with it.
Sure, the college gave them a chance and a scholarship but one more game is hardly going to effect the program.
But, if its contributing to a shot at a national championship, then that is different - then they would be letting their team down IF there is a big drop off of production/ talent to his replacement.

 

[ObsiWan]