December 15th, 2018 at 8:39 PM ^
...
And various other venues. I'm ashamed to say that I don't believe I ever connected this account with you. I'm sorry, friend. I thought about saying nothing and acting cool, but I treasure a lot of great sports moments we saw together.
I even mentioned you in this thread. A fond memory.
December 16th, 2018 at 12:39 PM ^
I, for one, miss the erie floating head avatar...
December 15th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
How times have changed. A familiar lament for those of us whose memories stretch back too far.
Ah well, any word on how many Florida players are not participating?
December 15th, 2018 at 5:44 PM ^
And apparently "too long" is remembering bowl games ~10 years ago where players would still actually play.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Well two captains are not on your list. Kinnell and Bredeson!!!
December 15th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Good for them...they put in their time and realize the risk isn't worth the reward.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:13 PM ^
Get over it. New normal and makes sense. Seniors should get paid or draft insurance and then maybe play.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:18 PM ^
They can take out insurance policies. Butt got over 500k tax free from his policy.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:20 PM ^
He would have gotten way more if he was drafted when he was projected to be drafted (rounds 2-3)
December 15th, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
Butt getting injured was the (extremely) unlikely exception, not the norm. How many other star players have been injured in bowl games, and what percentage of the starting players does that actually work out to? Most likely <<< 0.01%.
December 15th, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^
Wasn't there a linebacker, projected top 5 pick, who blew out his knee a few years ago in a bowl game?
December 15th, 2018 at 6:14 PM ^
But does the bowl-game injury rate exceed the odds for any regular season game? Everyone always claims the "risk" is too high, but what is the actually chance of anything remotely serious. I enjoy watching all the bowl games and have for many years - very rarely do you ever see guys getting seriously hurt in them.
December 15th, 2018 at 7:57 PM ^
ND's Jaylon Smith against the buckeyes.
December 15th, 2018 at 11:14 PM ^
His insurance policy had him projected as mid third round and he got paid for every pick after that until he was picked.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^
500K does not equal the millions he would've made though.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:41 PM ^
His family paid a lot of money for the additional insurance.
Also that may have totally derailed his NFL career, but sure use him as a success story.
December 15th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
Everyone wants to use Butt every time a kid decides not to play on a bowl game which is the new norm.
Its just a matter of time before players start skipping regular season games they deem not important We have started down a slippery slope and I’m sad to see kids decide they no longer want to help their team/program win a bowl game
December 15th, 2018 at 7:49 PM ^
There it is - the dreaded "slippery slope"! That damn sledding hill gets everyone...
December 15th, 2018 at 5:45 PM ^
I would give an NFL bound bowl injured player $20 along with a lot of other M fans. We could also start that for our players differentiating ourselves if legal?
December 15th, 2018 at 4:13 PM ^
I guess that means Hill and Long are declaring.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
or at least going thru the evaluation process
December 15th, 2018 at 4:59 PM ^
If they sit out, yes. If they are thinking about it as Seth speculates, that could mean they’re gone and thinking of sitting, or it could mean that they’ll definitely sit if they leave but the NFL decision isn’t made yet.
I’d like to get one of those guys back. Won’t be surprised if we don’t, though.
December 15th, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
Not sure they would be wanted back by their team mates if they decide to sit out.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:15 PM ^
They have millions on the line. After seeing what happened to Jake Butt I can't say I blame any kid for putting their professional future above what ultimately amounts to a meaningless exhibition game.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:15 PM ^
A buddy who has a lil access to the team told me Hidgon was playing hurt the last 2 games, I wonder if this played a role in his decision.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:18 PM ^
Higdon is a senior
December 15th, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^
Not sure what that’s supppsed to mean
December 15th, 2018 at 4:54 PM ^
But he is correct
December 15th, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
And he wears #22.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
His dad was on social media trashing the coaches so I doubt it.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:23 PM ^
Didn't catch that... What was said?
December 15th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^
Probably what we were all thinking
December 15th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
Not quite. But it was in a private Facebook group so I dont want to divulge too many details. Let's just say it doesn't look like he's leaving the program on good terms.
December 15th, 2018 at 6:17 PM ^
I'm interested to hear this. Without going into unnecessary detail, what was the gist of the complaint?
December 15th, 2018 at 6:42 PM ^
They felt like the coaches didn't appreciate Higdon's contribution to the team. They were not happy at all about the results of the awards ceremony.
December 15th, 2018 at 7:16 PM ^
Well that's not good. Not the first time we've gotten wind of heat coming from the Higdon camp, though.
December 15th, 2018 at 7:55 PM ^
I don't want to just throw them under the bus because I know there's always a lot going on behind the scenes that we aren't privy to (nor should we be) but it seems like they're kind of a high maintenance family, based on all the things we've heard and things I've seen coming from his dad (not to mention the user here who was a close family friend who always complained about him not getting enough hype). Brian was pretty clear that Higdon was "peeved" that he burned his red shirt for just a few worthless snaps in 15. Just makes you wonder if he's the type who is always unhappy.
December 15th, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
He was peeved about burning his redshirt, yet seriously considered going pro after 3 years? Makes no sense.
Unless he was actually peeved about the lack of snaps given redshirt was burned, I guess.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
I don’t blame them and I would also chip in for jake butt if he set up a go fund me. Support blue.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:20 PM ^
Those are the guys everyone thinks are not going to play.
Well, okay. They might as well announce then if they aren’t playing. No point in waiting.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
This is one of the many reasons I don’t like the playoff. The other bowls no don’t count - as was inevitable.
I can’t say I’ll be watching this game.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
When did the bowl games matter? Until like the 1960s half the pollsters declared a national champion Pre bowl games and unless you were a top 3 team planning on making a claim to a national championship the bowl game didn’t mean anything from then until now.
The existence of the playoffs highlights the meaninglessness of the other bowl games but they never had any meaning
December 15th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
The bad bowl explosion is to blame, too. There were 19 bowls in 1998 and there are 39 now because of local committee cash grab bullshit.
When the top 1/3 of teams were in bowls you were seeing good matchups. Some good teams didn't make bowls!
Making a bowl was an accomplishment. Now that every 6-6 Tom, 7-5 Dick, and the occasional 5-7 Harry are in the whole category has been devalued.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
Two times. Whoops.
December 15th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
I wouldn’t risk my body for a money grab exhibition either if I had a future in the pros.
Hope they all have success in the nfl. Our secondary is going to be a scary unknown this offseason
December 15th, 2018 at 4:25 PM ^
Well they sucked vs wifebeater state so what's the difference?
December 15th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Reps for young dudes might actually be more valuable for the future of programs than a win (and they can still win!). Not just in the game but in the weeks of practice leading up to the game.
Also healthy dudes getting drafted high is a good thing; if Jake Butt was a 2nd round pick I bet we would have seen more TE interest the last few years.
It's a shift in how we view a bowl game for sure, but this isn't a terrible thing by any means.
December 15th, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
I’d gladly give all those youth reps we got in last year’s bowl for a win there. Affects the whole trajectory of the program.
December 15th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
There will be people (fans and detractors) yelling about Michigan either way this offseason.
The stakes of this bowl game are entirely about whether or not they include "....or Florida!" at the end of a sentence.
December 15th, 2018 at 5:36 PM ^
Every game is an "exhibition game" at this level.