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

Post-season opt outs (with no injury)

  • Total voters
    537
#151
#151
DuckinVol said:
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.
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I don't think the playoffs themselves are the problem. It's how the bowls are integrated into the playoffs. We have 6 major bowls. All of them need to be rolled up into the playoff rounds. This immediately brings relevance back to those bowl games. There're also just too damn many bowls now! That's the other problem! There are a lot of teams playing in bowls that honestly have no business being there and yes, Tennessee has benefitted from that as well in the past. But that's also a contributing factor to so many players sitting out and not playing. I don't think that's valid excuse but it's a factor none the less.
 
#152
#152
DaddyChad said:
I am firmly in the player doing what’s best for themselves and their family so long as it’s not a playoff game. They’ve given so much to the program at that point and can give so much more to the program by going pro and being drafted highly. Recruits look more at how many and who you had drafted than they do a meaningless bowl game.
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This exactly.
 
#154
#154
I tend to be old school. I played my limited college ball in the mid 80's. This would be unthinkable back then. However, It's a completely different world for these players today. League minimums are huge! Getting drafted in the worst case scenario puts these young men in a great position to start their careers. If I remove myself from my internal bluster about about being a team player and playing it out to the end I realize there is really only one wise and responsible long term answer. That is to ensure you're available, uninjured to go through your pro days and team assessments to give yourself the optimal opportunity to get drafted.
 
#155
#155
Will Levis made the correct decision to opt out of the MCB.

His weak a$$ OLine was allowing him to take a beating every weekend.

I'm not sure what WLevis did to his OLine but they must've hated him.
 
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#156
#156
I am in the I hate it category and I reserve that right from old school thinking and with some of us in my generation. Just as I will not debate anyone that feels differently, we all have our own beliefs that each of us can decide or stand on. GBO for a great season that I never thought would happen this year!!!!!
 
#157
#157
I am in the "hate it" category. And at some point, the NIL aspect of this needs to be accounted for. I mean if I quit my job to go to another job, I would not get paid.

So if they opt out when they could have played, any NIL they get that is associated with the college needs to be diverted to the players that play.

They are effectively ending their college career at that point.
 
#158
#158
Dragon18 said:
I tend to be old school. I played my limited college ball in the mid 80's. This would be unthinkable back then. However, It's a completely different world for these players today. League minimums are huge! Getting drafted in the worst case scenario puts these young men in a great position to start their careers. If I remove myself from my internal bluster about about being a team player and playing it out to the end I realize there is really only one wise and responsible long term answer. That is to ensure you're available, uninjured to go through your pro days and team assessments to give yourself the optimal opportunity to get drafted.
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You and I come from the same era only I’m about 10 years older. You make a great point about the league minimum now versus what it was back in the day and the associated risk. Folks don’t seem to understand this ain’t your daddy’s or grandpa’s college football. (Dragon and I are your daddy or grandpa so we know what it was like back then and before.)

In addition to the millions of dollars in pro ball, the NIL and transfer portal have made the players much more independent. There is little loyalty to a school now and players (especially the good ones) are free to make that decision to leave at any point in time and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Frankly we’re lucky if they stay 3 or 4 years. People got two choices. Enjoy it for what it is- NFL Lite- where the players get paid well and can move at any time (free agency). Or go find something else to enjoy. I choose the former and won’t get too wound up anymore about players leaving. Next man up.
 
#159
#159
For guys that have been dinged up (Tillman, Hyatt, etc), I am in the fully support category. If you're not hurt, I get it....don't love it, but I understand. I've said before, I'm glad I'm not advising Hyatt on what to do. He has worked himself into a first round conversation. Roll an ankle or worse in a bowl game, he won't be 100% for the combine and could cost himself some serious money. On the other side, he is very close to a big UT record if he does play.
 
#160
#160
Brave Volunteer said:
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?
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Equating a flipping bowl game to war is comical (an SEC game, sure). You don't have to love it, but anyone with more than 10 IQ points understands why it is reasonable for certain guys to skip bowl games. I'm sorry you can't.
 
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#161
#161
Probably_in_Class said:
Equating a flipping bowl game to war is comical (an SEC game, sure). You don't have to love it, but anyone with more than 10 IQ points understands why it is reasonable for certain guys to skip bowl games. I'm sorry you can't.
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Oh FFS I wasn't "equating" football to war! It's just an expression. One, in fact, you will hear a LOT of football players use!
 
#162
#162
utfantilidie said:
If it’s not playoffs what’s the point.
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Yup.

Bowl games are fun. They give your fans something to cheer for, help with recruiting, help to put some if your players in the national spotlight. But ultimately, they are meaningless games. Jaylon Smith went from a projected Top 5 pick, to a day 2 pick and lost at least 20 million in the process.
 
#163
#163
Brave Volunteer said:
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?
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Jaylon Smith went from a top 5 pick to a 2nd round pick because he tore his ACL in a meaningless Fiesta Bowl. He lost at least 20 million in the process.

When you have the opportunity to risk millions of dollars to play a meaningless game, then your opinion might matter.
 
#165
#165
Carp said:
Jaylon Smith went from a top 5 pick to a 2nd round pick because he tore his ACL in a meaningless Fiesta Bowl. He lost at least 20 million in the process.

When you have the opportunity to risk millions of dollars to play a meaningless game, then your opinion might matter.
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So if he had done that to his knee in game one would you keep that same energy and say he should've held out that season?
 
#166
#166
Brave Volunteer said:
So if he had done that to his knee in game one would you keep that same energy and say he should've held out that season?
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I don't recall, but it's doubtful he was a likely top 5 pick before the season began. The more games you play, the more you get noticed and improve your stock. Sitting out an entire season may allow other players to jump ahead of you as well.

That being said, if he was a projected Top 5 pick before the season began and he chose to sit out, I also would not blame him. I will never blame anyone for choosing life changing money.

Why aren't you just as concerned with the early entrants into the NFL draft? They are forgoing college elegibility to go make money.
 
#168
#168
Brave Volunteer said:
So if he had done that to his knee in game one would you keep that same energy and say he should've held out that season?
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Pretty sure that hypothetical would never come into play. If they are NFL draft worthy I’m guessing they are getting pretty good NIL money and would forfeit that if they quit before or during the season. And if they decided to lay out before the season started or during the season for no reason, the player would be dismissed from the team. If they play out the season, the coach has no say if they opt out of the bowl game and dismissal would be a moot point then.
 
#169
#169
Support 100%, especially for the high contact positions. The long term risks for brain injury is too damn high.
 
#170
#170
Brave Volunteer said:
If you were aware of the expression, you wouldn't have given the false equivalency.
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The "war" reference is for working towards a SEC or national championship which I even referred to in the original post had you been capable of any level of reading comprehension. A bowl game is for fun. One of us understands the expression. It isn't you.
 
#171
#171
DuckinVol said:
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.
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There have been lots of changes from thirty years ago. The money is bigger both for the institution and the individual, so there is more to risk. The growth and development of both sports and social media over the last thirty years has pushed the current narrative as well. The publicity and attention athletes receive is leaps and bounds beyond anyone could have imagined thirty years ago, impacting the decision to sit out. Also, before the BCS and the evolution to the current system, bowl games impacted final standings and determined the national champion. Outside the CFP, the bowls just don't matter to the players and coaches. Include the transfer portal and NIL and it really doesn't matter if you are #5 or #15 at the end of the season.
 
#172
#172
JRich said:
There have been lots of changes from thirty years ago. The money is bigger both for the institution and the individual, so there is more to risk. The growth and development of both sports and social media over the last thirty years has pushed the current narrative as well. The publicity and attention athletes receive is leaps and bounds beyond anyone could have imagined thirty years ago, impacting the decision to sit out. Also, before the BCS and the evolution to the current system, bowl games impacted final standings and determined the national champion. Outside the CFP, the bowls just don't matter to the players and coaches. Include the transfer portal and NIL and it really doesn't matter if you are #5 or #15 at the end of the season.
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Even in the days of multiple groups awarding national titles, there were never more than a small handful of teams in the running at bowl time. The rest played and appreciated the opportunity. Most coaches and players still do.
 
#173
#173
I’m sorry but most on this board if given the choice personally would sit out. You risk millions of dollars for the opportunity to win a bowl game?
 
#174
#174
Brave Volunteer said:
Meet Inky Johnson, who projected to be an NFL Draft pick in 2006 but had a career ending/life threatening injury in the 2nd game of the season. So what should he have done? Sit out his entire senior season to avoid any risk of any kind, ever? Players face that risk everytime they step on the field! You sign up to play, you accept the risk whether its game 2 or game 13. Willingly laying out of playing and refusing to help your team win their bowl game is shameful and dishonorable!
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You realize players do this all the time right? It's called leaving early and entering the draft prior to graduation.

If you pause from your own self-absorbed mindset for just a second and look at the current mock drafts and players expected to go in the first round, you'll see the majority of them in fact fit that criteria. Names like Bryce Young, Jalen Carter, C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, Anthony Richardson, etc. In fact, our opponent might end up being without their top 2 defensive lineman.

But yeah, you totally come across as the kind of selfless guy that would risk guaranteed millions.
 
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#175
#175
In 1960 there were only 9 bowl games and you had to be pretty good to get selected. Thier was a lot of interest and pride in playing a bowl game then. ESPN came along and bankrolled a lot more bowl games (there are 40 bowl games now) to fill up their December TV schedule.
Most bowl games now have mediocre teams playing in half empty stadiums and has created an attitude that bowl games are meaningless. Heck, how many coaches and assistant coaches leave for other jobs before the bowl game and no one seems to question that. Hugh Freeze, Jeff Brohm and our own OC and many others have accepted other jobs already. Why should the players play for the team when thier high paid coaches have bailed?
 
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