Players skipping bowl games to prepare for draft

[KsuWildcatsXII]

Just saw Leonard Fournette is skipping the Citrus Bowl to prepare for the draft. Seems like a pretty big slap in the face to LSU. I've heard of guys switching positions for bowl games to help their draft chances, but never just quitting on the team. Thoughts?

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/809825650517430272

[bubbles4ksu]

it's an exhibition game.

[wetwillie]

In favor of

[CNS]

Good for him.  College is about getting you to your career.  College sports help with that, but are lopsided in getting more from the kids than vice versa.

[CNS]

Putting yourself in the mind of a GM, makes you wonder if he has an injury he wants kept quiet or something.

['taterblast]

i don't think it's going to happen that often when injuries aren't involved, but am all for it.

[CNS]

If you are a sure thing 1st round, or a high 2, trying to be a 1, it makes absolute sense to skip a game that means nothing and not risk injury.

Kinda like the Pro Bowl.

[Skipper44]

Fournette is not a typical draft prospect but if a guy can get a legit agent to front real cash it is probably the smart thing to do. 

One possible negative is you could maybe make the case of costing yourself on the car dealer autograph sessions, football camp and other endorsement money if you piss of the fanbase but I'm not sure how much a Citrus bowl vs Louisville means to the tiger faithful.  If it was a Sugar vs another blue blood you might be giving up a decades of goodwill that could be very valuable, especially as the NFL has made tailback a less valued position.

[KsuWildcatsXII]

I guess a lot of it would depend on how the player goes about it, too. If it's known from the beginning, it'd be an easier pill to swallow for coaches, teammates, etc. If the guy just says screw it halfway through bowl practices, that'd be pretty rough. I obviously have no idea when Fournette let the team know. Maybe LSU tried to keep it quiet so Louisville would game plan for him. Just weird timing for it to go public now.

[MakeItRain]

Media members who keep saying he's skipping the bowl game to focus on the draft should be murdered, they're lying. He isn't skipping anything, he's still injured and he isn't playing because he's not yet 100%.

[MadCat]

I know I wouldn't skip out on bowl swag.

[MakeItRain]

I know I wouldn't skip out on bowl swag.

He's still going, just not playing because he's what the kids call hurt.

[Skipper44]

I thought he left the team and signed with an agent that will bankroll his predaft prep.  And that is probably what he should do as an elite RB, capitalize on Ezekiel Elliot making the Cowboys look smart to draft a RB very high with a great workout. 

I don't recall any discussions on Charles Walker, the OU DL that decided to not try and play again this season for OU after a concussion.  If Mike Stoops was willing to say this to the media, imagine what he says to the NFL folks.

http://deadspin.com/oklahomas-charles-walker-leaves-the-team-to-prepare-for-1789036912

“Quitting on your teammates is hard to take, as a coach,” Mike Stoops said. “That’s everything we stand for — our commitment to one another and, for whatever reason, that wasn’t there for him. He thought this was a better avenue so you would have to ask him for those [answers].”