Where do you stand on players opting out of post-season games (with no injuries) to "prepare for the draft"?

[StickMan]

If it’s not playoffs what’s the point.

The point is, the last I checked, they do keep score in bowl games, so they matter. The new world order is to put oneself ahead of one's team. I understand they're sacrificing a lot by playing a dangerous sport, but they made that decision long ago. I just can't agree with abandoning your teammates. If nothing matters but the playoffs, then go ahead and hang up the cleats when it becomes clear your team won't make it.

 

[TheGoodStuff]

If you’re getting good NIL money you better play. If not yet… well it’s a business/Life decision.

 

[NEO]

I hate it but totally understand.

This is a career for some of these men and one game could potentially take millions away from them.

Football is a brutal sport and it just takes one play to end a career.

 

[ReelfootVol]

I have no hesitation.........................I hate it with a passion !!!!

 

[utchs81]

My 'Boomer Mentality' says everyone should play because they owe it to their teammates and University. If, however, one has a nagging injury, i.e. C Tillman I fully understand his reluctance to do so. We all know that if not fully healed another injury is more likely while playing and could be more devastating than the previous one.

 

[Stonewall83]

For the most part I hate it….. If you played against Vandy in a game that meant very little why not play in a NY6 bowl that’s the biggest game our team has been to in over a decade. Hell 20 years really.

This is assuming you are healthy. Guys who are injured or rehabbing obviously have a different choice to make.

If I’m Tillman I probably don’t play, if I’m Hyatt there’s no way in hell I’m not going to help my team win.

 

[ReelfootVol]

Tillman not playing is totally understandable. However, If a University gives you a scholarship you should have enough self gratitude to play. Especially if you were given money for the NIL !

 

[ReelfootVol]

For the most part I hate it….. If you played against Vandy in a game that meant very little why not play in a NY6 bowl that’s the biggest game our team has been to in over a decade. Hell 20 years really.

This is assuming you are healthy. Guys who are injured or rehabbing obviously have a different choice to make.

If I’m Tillman I probably don’t play, if I’m Hyatt there’s no way in hell I’m not going to help my team win.

agree 100%

 

[UT_Tix79]

I don’t like it, but I understand. It also gives a chance for the future players to get a big game experience

 

[UT_Tix79]

For the most part I hate it….. If you played against Vandy in a game that meant very little why not play in a NY6 bowl that’s the biggest game our team has been to in over a decade. Hell 20 years really.

This is assuming you are healthy. Guys who are injured or rehabbing obviously have a different choice to make.

If I’m Tillman I probably don’t play, if I’m Hyatt there’s no way in hell I’m not going to help my team win.

Devils advocate, what if Hyatt plays this game that means nothing in the scheme of things, blows his knee out, can’t do the combine, draft stock drops, is out for a year so misses all next season, and he loses out on millions?

Those are the things these kids camps are telling them. These are hard decisions.

 

[Delmar]

Devils advocate, what if Hyatt plays this game that means nothing in the scheme of things, blows his knee out, can’t do the combine, draft stock drops, is out for a year so misses all next season, and he loses out on millions?

Those are the things these kids camps are telling them. These are hard decisions.

Yes they are. Pretty easy for folks who don’t have millions on the line to tell folks what they ought to do.

 

[DuckinVol]

I hate it. I certainly understand the thought process, but it’s flawed. A healthy player who chooses to sit out is taking a giant dump on everyone who helped him reach that position. He’s crapping on teammates, coaches, AD, students and fans, and he does owe each to varying degrees.

Get a solid insurance policy and play the game. This is another symptom of the cancer which is the playoff.

 

[DuckinVol]

Bowl games outside of the playoffs have become meaningless.

I just don’t understand this mindset. Nothing has changed since the vast majority were outside any championship talk. They mean just as much today as they did thirty years ago. That’s simply fact.

 

[volfeeva]

If a player ever needed to play their bowl and try to increase his stock……..it’s him (in my opinion).

His last game, 57.7%, 188 yards, 2td’s, sacked twice, -10 yards rushing 75 QBR (vs Louisville)

The previous game, 64%, 206, 1td, 1 int, 26 yards rushing, 84 QBR (vs Georgia)

The game before, 47.8%, 109 yards, no TD, 1 int, sacked 4 times, -16 yards rushing, 16.6 QBR (vs Vandy)

He hasn’t looked good AT ALL lately.

All the experts have him rated at #4 qb in the draft. Must be a down year for talent in that position, cause he seems way over rated IMHO. Probably holds a clip board good though

 

[Stonewall83]

Devils advocate, what if Hyatt plays this game that means nothing in the scheme of things, blows his knee out, can’t do the combine, draft stock drops, is out for a year so misses all next season, and he loses out on millions?

Those are the things these kids camps are telling them. These are hard decisions.

What if he blew his knee in the Vandy game that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things? What if he blew his knee at the combine or a pro day workout?? What if he pulled a Todd Helton and fell down the stairs lugging groceries to the kitchen??

A win over a team with 2 nattys and like 9 conference championships in the last Decade would be a big deal in growing this program. It would certainly mean more than beating Vandy 2 weeks ago did. Helps with recruiting and national perceptions tremendously. Is there a risk? Sure, is there a risk of a non contact knee injury everytime you touch the practice field or hit a workout? You betcha.

Having said all that you aren’t wrong at all about it being a hard decision.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Keep in mind these are human being, not physical assets. The reason the bowl is different is by bowl season your resume is already set. A nice bowl performance might provide a slight bump but a bad performance or an injury can impact your NFL stock which, for the guys we're talking about, is now very much a reality instead of a dream. Unless it's for a national championship, these guys deserve to make whatever decision they feel is best for them.

If you're an upper classman, odds are your resume is already set anyway. The scouts know what these players can do by their junior and senior seasons. So, again I ask, why play at all if your primary concern is not to get hurt? If you are a projected high draft pick going into your senior season, chances are that's not changing throughout the season unless you get hurt. So why even play the first 12 games if you refuse to play the 13th?

I find it funny that everybody preaches "team, team, team", "There's no I in Team", "Brotherhood", and all that jazz. Yet when it comes to the bowl game, suddenly that doesn't mean anything anymore? Suddenly it's ok to be selfish and put the individual ahead of the collective? To me that says it's all bull$hit to begin with. So, it's ok for everyone else to step on that field and put it all on the line, but you're too "special" to go to war with your team mates one more time?

 

[volfeeva]

People keep trying to assign some higher meaning to bowls instead of just accepting what they are: fun.

Usually, it's a chance for a bunch of Vol fans to have an excuse to all go party in another city. Trips are fun. We almost always get a somewhat interesting matchup and almost always against someone we rarely play. That is also fun. The players get a free vacation, a bunch of prizes, and occasionally get to play a game in a NFL stadium. The players talk every year about how much fun they have on bowl trips. The game doesn't need to mean anything just like most college football games don't actually impact the national championship.

My brothers and I have attended all of the Florida bowl games over the last decade or so, and every time was awesome. The fact it, "didn't matter," didn't matter.

My point is it used to matter. It would be the spring board to getting good talent to come to your school. Now that we have the play offs, and players jumping to the pros so fast, yeah, it has become a meaningless event.

 

[Stonewall83]

I just don’t understand this mindset. Nothing has changed since the vast majority were outside any championship talk. They mean just as much today as they did thirty years ago. That’s simply fact.

It’s a garbage all or nothing social media mentality. It’s what gets coaches like Paul Chryst fired. If Tennessee goes 11-2 with a win over Clemson in a NY6 bowl it is 100% a better season than if we go 10-3 and get thumped by Clemson. Ridiculous that even needs to be said. Kids commit to the hot hand just as often as they commit to the relationships cultivated over the year. Every team has coaches kissing their ass, they wanna win.

 

[HARTUPM]

If its not a playoff or championship game, then I understand. It's a business decision. What would you do if you were about to get drafted in a couple months? If you were smart you'd be getting ready for pro day/combine.

 

[HARTUPM]

I see both sides of the argument. I find my self wishing, especially for NY6 bowls, playoff, and National Championship Game, that an insurance policy could be purchased that would protect them financially should they get hurt and lose an NFL career.

Buy an insurance policy.. How expensive would that be? And who's going to pay for it? Would you really do that if it was you? How would you know how much to insure? Seems asinine.

 

[Grouse Stalker]

Sadly, this reductionist thinking prevails.
I wasn’t even disappointed we didn’t get the Sugar bowl, and that used to move the needle more than anything. When I enrolled at UT, winning the NC wasn’t even that important. Winning the SEC and going to the sugar bowl was the aim. That’s gone.
Not sure how to process. Ut has opportunity to beat a great opponent and finish in top 5. But our best player is out and may have many more sit out. Pisses me off.

Yep. The feelings you have when your team is in the freaking Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl...and nobody really cares. Not even the team. It's hard for fans to process. When players sit out, I am reminded that the majority of them really should have never been allowed academic admission to the school in the first place.

 

[DuckinVol]

Yep. The feelings you have when your team is in the freaking Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl...and nobody really cares. Not even the team. It's hard for fans to process. When players sit out, I am reminded that the majority of them really should have never been allowed academic admission to the school in the first place.

The playoffs are a cancer on college football. They’ve devalued everything except those specific games. Those three, and a few more in the future, have drastically changed everything about the game. If all the other bowls are now meaningless, they were always meaningless, but every player, coach and fan cared deeply just a few years ago.

The changes are sad to see.

 

[Mccage]

If it’s not playoffs what’s the point.

Maybe for the fans....without them no playoffs, NFL, NIL, hell not even ESPN. These players would have to get real jobs.

 

[Advol]

It IS what it IS!
We may rah rah for our University of Choice.
But the players by in larger could care less about the University they play for.
They are Free Agents in the NFL Minor League and are protecting their paycheck!!
God Bless um! I guess we should praise and thank them for their service!!

 

[peaygolf]

Their choice. Not a good look in my eyes, but whatever. Signed to play football, not to quit.