Warm Take: Draft-eligible players sitting out the bowl - good for the players, good for the team

Submitted by Larry Appleton on December 18th, 2018 at 1:48 PM

I'll try to keep it quick.

The epidemic of draft-eligible players sitting out the bowl game is now apparently infecting even mid-to-late round prospects.  Ah well.  It's good for them, because they preserve their health and can instead prep for the combine, obviously.

BUT, it's good for the team, too!  A player who even THINKS about skipping the bowl game would never be that invested in the game anyway.  There'd likely be a thought in the back of his mind that he just CANNOT get injured.  And with that thought/worry, how hard is he going to play?

But who will play hard and leave everything on the field?  Players who backed up those upperclassmen and now get a chance to prove themselves on a massive stage.  If they want to prove that they belong amongst the starters next year and kickstart their own draft hype, they're gong to play lights out in the bowl game.

To sum it up, I feel MUCH more comfortable having Paye, Evans/Wilson/Turner, and A. Thomas playing than (still beloved) players who (wisely) have their mind on their draft stock.

Fin.

xtramelanin

December 18th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^

why in the world would you be having an 'argument' with a psuedo-marcus ray?  that guy needs counseling in the most desperate way.  he does not need someone to volley the ball back to him as if he's a real person. 

901 P

December 18th, 2018 at 2:26 PM ^

I'm going to have to disagree on this one Xtra--I'm actually finding this gimmick a little amusing, at least for the time being. Doubly amusing if some people think that they are actually interacting with the real Marcus Ray. 

mGrowOld

December 18th, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^

All time best board shticks IMO

1. Terrelle Pryor - whoever ran that account did it perfectly.  He wasnt with us long but man, when he was here he was hilarious

2. Batman - At least for the first two or three weeks.  Then it got old pretty fast as most shticks do.

3. Groot - The poster did a fantastic job of being in the right place at the right time with his "I am Groot" responses.

Gary Bussey was pretty good too although that dude truly HATED me so he doesnt make my top three.  And he was definitely crazy enough to actually be Gary Busey it seemed.

Marcus is harmless and mildly amusing but like most one trick pony's they get old pretty quick.

NotADuck

December 18th, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^

Guys, this is a novelty account.  It's not the real Marcus Ray.  This account is like one of those novelty accounts you see on reddit that only exist for the creator's amusement.  It's like if someone created an Urban Meyer account that would chime in with comments about being forgetful, taking medication, hiding facts, lying, etc.

I think he's playing his character to perfection too, spelling errors and all.  lol

BornInA2

December 18th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^

As someone paying full boat for a public college education, which in part subsidizes sports scholarships, I feel that a healthy player opting out of playing for personal reasons should be obliged to reimburse the rest of us for that portion of their scholarship.

My kid doesn't get to drop a class in December and get their money back, or get a grade.

Alton

December 18th, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^

What portion of the scholarship?  Classes end before the bowl game. 

Is Higdon going to be attending classes in January?  If so, then maybe you could argue that he should have his Spring 2019 scholarship yanked.  If not, then Higdon played right through the last game of the semester.