2021 quitters thread - guys 'preparing for the draft...'

[OSUTideFan]

College football went to hell when we got rid of team moms, juice boxes, orange slices, and cupcakes after each game…

Is this a reference to Mack Brown or something?

 

[Ole Man Dan]

starting to think harbaugh is opting out of coaching and getting ready for the NFL too.

Nope... I think Harbaugh is kinda like Cincinnati.
All talk and no show. It's a cinch he wasn't ready for Georgia.

 

[MemphisBamaDude]

Gotta give respect to Corral. Playing in the game today when many in his position would not.

 

[BearFoot]

Just wondering…..
How much better would Ohio State be performing tonight if their “Quitters” / “Opter-outers” were playing?

 

[Valley View]

At one time, and IMHO still should be, getting a scholarship to play college football was great opportunity for a young man to continue playing the game they love and to get a world class education. In the past many played just for the opportunity to get that education.

Now the players (maybe not all) act as they are doing the university a favor by playing football for the school. I'm sure recruiting has brought some of this on, but instead of being an opportunity to get a free education the focus is now on how much can the athlete get. Some idiot on Finebaum's show likened playing college sports to slavery.

This selfishness has now led to the opting out of games (quitting) before the season is over. This should be an automatic forfeit of scholarship and loss of access to school facilities. I know most who opt out are not returning, but loss of access could affect their draft status. I'm not a expert in risk analysis, but I would bet an athlete has a greater risk driving to the grocery store that playing in one more game.

But as others, I am getting old and still believe a handshake means something, promises are kept, and quitting your team was not an option. ROLL TIDE !!!

 

[BearFoot]

and now we see the other side of the decision…..

…..with Matt Corral choosing to play, and leaving the game with an injury.

I’m beginning to think that there might not be a 100%, absolutely correct choice for every single person…..

…..just like in life

 

[NationalTitles18]

and now we see the other side of the decision…..

…..with Matt Corral choosing to play, and leaving the game with an injury.

I’m beginning to think that there might not be a 100%, absolutely correct choice for every single person…..

…..just like in life

Bingo...and just like in life if it ain't your life it's best to mind your own regarding personal decisions that don't effect you/those you care about, especially when the others it does effect are OK with it/understanding of the decision.

 

[BamaBoySince89]

Now Vontae Davis is a prime example of quitting (albeit he was in the NFL). These kids have a huge opportunity in front of them and for some of them they have families to care for, etc. so why you criticize them when people leave jobs for another opportunity every day, coaches leave recruits houses on a trip and jump on a jet to make a press conferences but yet they don’t get nearly the amount of criticism players get and they are making millions of dollars to coach!

Granted we all have an opinion on things, but this is goofy considering most of us don’t have a million dollar contract in the NFL waiting for us.

 

[2003TIDE]

Ok posting here since it was not welcome in the sugar bowl thread. Anyone complaining about a player opting out has


In their

 

[crimsonaudio]

Anyone complaining about a player opting out has

Nah, I played for many years - these injuries can happen at any time.

And as I've said before, those who played for years with teammates understand why this is such an affront.

I played alongside guys who got legit D1 scholarships - they would never have dreamt of quitting the team for their own personal benefit.

It's obvious we just need to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[2003TIDE]

Nah, I played for many years - these injuries can happen at any time.

And as I've said before, those who played for years with teammates understand why this is such an affront.

I played alongside guys who got legit D1 scholarships - they would never have dreamt of quitting the team for their own personal benefit.

It's obvious we just need to agree to disagree on this one.

This is pretty much my assumption on this. There are a whole lot of high school FB players who are letting that experience dictate their feelings. Even if someone does get a D1 scholarship, 98.4% of D1 players don’t make it to the NFL and don’t have to make the decision these guys are faced with. So there is a 98.4% chance it isn’t even relevant what the guys you played with think.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Even if someone does get a D1 scholarship, 98.4% of D1 players don’t make it to the NFL and don’t have to make the decision these guys are faced with. So there is a 98.4% chance it isn’t even relevant what the guys you played with think.

LOL, it's the principle...

Never mind...

 

[teamplayer]

A lot of people don't seem to understand that bowl games were always meaningless essentially. The 4 team playoff made it so *more* games mattered, not fewer. The Independence Bowl never mattered in terms of the national championship. The playoff didn't change that. Neither did the BCS. It's almost always been the case that almost all bowl games had no bearing on a national title.

I keep saying the same thing. There are definitely changes in the game of college football, and most of them I do not like, but bowl games being "meaningless" is not new. The empowerment of the players is new, and it seems like there isn't nearly as much loyalty to the universities that give them their opportunities or to their teammates. That loyalty to a university is what created a type of bond between the players and the alumni and supporters who cheer for them. Now it is professional sports, which many people do not like. We'll see how it works out.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Waddle showed us the right answer about 355 days ago.

 

[CB4]

LOL, it's the principle...

Never mind...

So when does a game become “meaningless”? Only bowl games because, outside of the CFP , they are exhibitions? What about when a team falls out of conference championship contention? Are those games from that point forward “meaningless”? And for players on the opposing side that may still be contention, the game isn’t meaningless, is it?

Let’s look at two key players on our team this year. Will Anderson and Bryce Young both are draft eligible next year. Let’s say for whatever reason they are both consensus top 10-15 on most draft projections. So the first half of next season turns disastrous; we go 3-3 in first six games with losses to Texas, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Chances of winning the SEC west are remote and chances of making the CFP are virtually non existent.

So does that make the last half of the season now “meaningless” for Will and Bryce? Would we all be good and fine with them saying “nah…nothing to win here. I’m prepping for the combine from here out”, with games with Tennessee, LSU and Auburn remaining on the schedule? Meaningless games really in terms of possibly improving their individual draft status, but certainly not “meaningless” to the other 90-100 players on the team. Why? Because playing the game does matter. Because winning does matter. Because doing something that goes “beyond yourself for someone else” does matter.

Some would say I’m going to the absurd to attempt to prove a point but haven’t we already seen a few players (LSU comes to mind) where players with a possible high draft grade “step out” with multiple games left in season? With Alabama football as we have experienced under CNS, yes the above scenario would likely never happen, but it could.

My late father was fond of saying “all analogies break down at some point” and this one will most likely do the same but I’ll attempt nonetheless.

I once picked up my son early from basketball practice because an ice storm in the area had begun. As we were heading home, we noticed one of his classmates had slid into a ditch with his vehicle. We stopped, helped the kid, but in the process of getting his car out, I did about $1000 damage to my own truck. Now $1000 doesn’t seem like much, but at the time I had just been laid off, so for me at the time it wasn’t an insignificant amount of cash. I wasn’t happy about it but it happened because doing something for someone else was “the right thing to do”.

Sometimes you run the risk of “unintended bad consequences” because you chose to see a world beyond your own nose and make decisions that could help others but it does little or nothing for you personally. Maybe I still live in a Pollyanna mindset and the real world has just passed me by.
But then again maybe I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

[B1GTide]

Players opting out is about their families. It is not selfish at all. But, hey, you can twist it that way if it works for you.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Players opting out is about their families. It is not selfish at all. But, hey, you can twist it that way if it works for you.

Not twisting. Not saying it’s selfish using modern terminology. But 20-30+ years ago, this would universally be seen as “selfish”. But not appropriate for football board. I deleted my post.

 

[92tide]

This is pretty much my assumption on this. There are a whole lot of high school FB players who are letting that experience dictate their feelings. Even if someone does get a D1 scholarship, 98.4% of D1 players don’t make it to the NFL and don’t have to make the decision these guys are faced with. So there is a 98.4% chance it isn’t even relevant what the guys you played with think.

can you imagine the fiery hellscape that would be team sports these days if al bundy had quit on the polk high panthers and hadn't scored those 4 touchdowns in a single game in '66 vs andrew jackson high.

 

[Crimson1967]

Off topic, but the Cotton Bowl was meaningless to me. Not the game itself, but the concept of being in a bowl game. I thought of it as a playoff game that happened to be played in Arlington. I assume the players didn’t participate in any of the traditional pre-game stuff they normally do.

I even had to stop and think what the postgame ceremony was all about until I remembered it was to award the Cotton Bowl trophy.

But win or lose next week, do you think anyone will look back years from now and remember 2021 as the year we won the Cotton Bowl?

 

[CajunCrimson]

Does playing for a championship ever outweigh possibly being injured and losing an NFL career?

my guess would be “no”

so if the logic is sound, then there would never be a single game that’s more important than an NFL career.