It may be in UK footballs long term best interest to avoid Levis being injured and sliding in the draft vs. him playing and maybe winning a mid/low tier bowl game.
What’s More Valuable to UK Football?
- Thread starter Beach_Cat
- Start date
I don’t think the poll is really fair to have an either or situation as you have presented
1. Would it have been better for Benny Snell to be a higher NFL pick vs play in citrus bowl? The answer is citrus bowl came and went and we really didn’t get a top RB to come after him in recruiting…..so at least we got a fun bowl win
2. So Levi’s getting all the noteworthy news has gotten us what sounds at best. Walk-on from Iowa and maybe a struggling Wisconsin Qb
I think Coen being back will matter way more then Levi’s or music city bowl and the huge issue not in your poll is some NIL money to pay him to come to UK should be in your poll
1. Would it have been better for Benny Snell to be a higher NFL pick vs play in citrus bowl? The answer is citrus bowl came and went and we really didn’t get a top RB to come after him in recruiting…..so at least we got a fun bowl win
2. So Levi’s getting all the noteworthy news has gotten us what sounds at best. Walk-on from Iowa and maybe a struggling Wisconsin Qb
I think Coen being back will matter way more then Levi’s or music city bowl and the huge issue not in your poll is some NIL money to pay him to come to UK should be in your poll
Having Sheron get starters reps in practice and valuable playing time, and hopefully having a couple series thrown in for Wade as well.
I don’t think any 1 player changed anything program wise. It is overall success of the program getting players to the league. Stoops has done a great job developing NFL players on defense. It is not surprising they recruit well on defense.
Typically, I fall in the camp that all players should play in the bowl game regardless of the actual bowl game. I don’t like the idea of opting out.
Benny helping us win Citrus was probably more important at the time. Benny as much as we all love him wasn’t getting drafted and bringing the publicity of a 1st round pick.
Also I think the extra development and practice time of any bowl game is super important. Getting qualified this year was the most important step as the season progressed.
Also agree getting Coen back was huge!
However, now that we have checked those boxes (not sure Coen is official, but I’ll count it). I think some HS QB in the 2024 or 2025 is going to bump us in his thought process seeing he can be first round at UK.
Now if we can get that sane kid the right NIL it will definitely help.
Benny helping us win Citrus was probably more important at the time. Benny as much as we all love him wasn’t getting drafted and bringing the publicity of a 1st round pick.
Also I think the extra development and practice time of any bowl game is super important. Getting qualified this year was the most important step as the season progressed.
Also agree getting Coen back was huge!
However, now that we have checked those boxes (not sure Coen is official, but I’ll count it). I think some HS QB in the 2024 or 2025 is going to bump us in his thought process seeing he can be first round at UK.
Now if we can get that sane kid the right NIL it will definitely help.
I don’t think this is a typical “should he play, risk injury…or not play” scenario.
He is already injured in more ways than one. Hindsight being 20/20 he probably should’ve sat another game or two if not more...but I digress.
If he were perfectly healthy I would understand the argument for sitting, but the one for playing is just as valid. We live in such a current, prisoner of the moment world that balling out in a bowl game could actually boost him.
As far as the potential for injury, that argument can be made for every game. Why should any athlete in any sport who is a lock for the pros play in any game?
long story short, top tier guys totally losing their opportunity because of injury just doesn’t happen as often as the news cycles of this topic/debate make it seem.
The guys who need to skip are the 3rd/4th round-free agents, and specialists. A kicker or punter doesn’t need to roll into the draft with a bad leg. A later round guy or free agent who may make special teams or practice squad…sure maybe ice that rolled ankle or shoulder during the bowl game and start prepping for the combine specific work outs.
He is already injured in more ways than one. Hindsight being 20/20 he probably should’ve sat another game or two if not more...but I digress.
If he were perfectly healthy I would understand the argument for sitting, but the one for playing is just as valid. We live in such a current, prisoner of the moment world that balling out in a bowl game could actually boost him.
As far as the potential for injury, that argument can be made for every game. Why should any athlete in any sport who is a lock for the pros play in any game?
long story short, top tier guys totally losing their opportunity because of injury just doesn’t happen as often as the news cycles of this topic/debate make it seem.
The guys who need to skip are the 3rd/4th round-free agents, and specialists. A kicker or punter doesn’t need to roll into the draft with a bad leg. A later round guy or free agent who may make special teams or practice squad…sure maybe ice that rolled ankle or shoulder during the bowl game and start prepping for the combine specific work outs.
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As soon as we question whether opting out of a bowl is the right business decision, we are on a slippery slope. If an injury in a bowl jeopardizes the draft opportunity, then any injury in any football game might jeopardize draft selection. Why not take November off? Why would that not be a good business decision?
The scholarship represents a tuition free college education. The quid pro quo is full participation in the athletics program. The bowl is part of the football season and falls under the category of representing the university. Players should play the full schedule. The problem is that the coaches have no way to enforce a requirement for bowl participation. Maybe this can be written into the scholarship papers with a prorata penalty provision for opting out. Maybe it can be written into NIL contracts. But these are questions for a sports lawyer to answer. Right now, those requirements and clarifications do not exist. So if coaches cannot stop players from opting out of bowls, their best choice is to "support" the player so they can keep peace and prevent it from spilling over into recruiting. But that only serves to encourage more opting out in the future. What is missing is an enforceable standard of some kind, but we should not hold our breath for one.
The scholarship represents a tuition free college education. The quid pro quo is full participation in the athletics program. The bowl is part of the football season and falls under the category of representing the university. Players should play the full schedule. The problem is that the coaches have no way to enforce a requirement for bowl participation. Maybe this can be written into the scholarship papers with a prorata penalty provision for opting out. Maybe it can be written into NIL contracts. But these are questions for a sports lawyer to answer. Right now, those requirements and clarifications do not exist. So if coaches cannot stop players from opting out of bowls, their best choice is to "support" the player so they can keep peace and prevent it from spilling over into recruiting. But that only serves to encourage more opting out in the future. What is missing is an enforceable standard of some kind, but we should not hold our breath for one.
Benny wasn’t sitting that out. It’s the game he needed to break the record. Just like if Chris wasn’t 230 yards away and say 115-130 I doubt he would’ve either.
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