Stewart already had his degree. He probably figures next year Ridley will balling out for his own draft stock too. I was not surprised by the news but don't exactly agree with the decision. He's pretty raw in a lot of ways as a WR, I thought another year would really help him in the draft. At either rate I'm never gonna fault a guy who got his degree done first.
Ideally, I would agree he should stay. But there are always a lot of contingencies in the stay or go move. In this case, the biggest contingency is Hurts ability to improve as a passer and our coaching staff commitment to an offense that will emphasize talents of our WRs, which I think is a little more questionable than in the past. Our issues with passing didn't materialize just over the last 2 games. Before Stewart can adequately be showcased as a receiver while at the same time competing with Ridley for catches, Hurts would have to improve substantially in his passing and the coaching staff would have to demonstrate high confidence in his new found skills. That's a pretty large contingency IMO from Ardarius's point of view.
The fact we are even mentioning Ridley as a transfer risk ought to tell you that there is some real questions for the development of the offense going forward. As I have stated in previous threads I think the 10 carries per game given to Hurts will impact our recruiting at the other skill positions. That's a lot of touches that would normally go to receivers and backs over the course of season. Touches for the skill players is equal to or more important than yards before you start giving me stats about Hurts passing yardage this season.
If Hurts doesn't improve and Ridley doesn't transfer, Ridley is likely having to rely on his freshman tape to impress scouts. That potential would get me to evaluate my options too.
This is why some of us on here believe this is a risky move for our program.
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