Players Sitting out Bowl game

Kinda like having your $100k plus education paid for?
You are joking right? Do you think that is really the equivalent of being paid in a multi-million dollar industry? If you think providing an education is the on par with paying a coaching staff of your team over 10 million dollars a year then I cannot explain things to you because you really don't want to understand the athletes perspective. I'm guessing you have said "shut up and dribble" more than once in your lifetime.
 
Kinda like having your $100k plus education paid for?
I get what you are saying here, but at this point we are talking about adults that need to move on and consider their career opportunities. Just because they were on scholarship does not obligate them to sacrifice their future value for a game that gains them nothing. Literally everyone that is involved with this industry is ok with this.
 
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A rare brain cell amongst this thread.

Cade has been nursing a high ankle sprain for a while now, and he has the opportunity to be a professional football player. If anyone is giving him advice and is telling him anything other than to get healthy, they are doing him a disservice.

Alontae has given far more to this University and this football team than anyone commenting in this thread. He stuck it out through the hard times when he likely could have left. But these folks are right, he's a "quitter" that is abandoning his team because he doesn't want to play in the worthless Music City Bowl.

I wish they would rid us of more than half of these meaningless bowls, because maybe then they wouldn't be so cheapened that the actually mattered. Right now, they just don't whatsoever.

How dare you?!?!?!?! Ya'll know the Tony the Tiger Bowl is as prestigious as they come!!!
 
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I agree. Leaving before the season is quitting unless there are legitimate injury concerns. Now foregoing a whole year of eligibility for the draft , I have no problem with it.

The season was over after the Vandy game. The only reason to play in a bowl game now is the extra practices and exposure for the program.
 
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An exhibition… proceeded by a week of practices with NFL coaches, scouts and GMs a few feet away.

It's a week long job interview. None of these people would have any problem with a member of the band (on scholarship) skipping the bowl game to practice for an audition with the NY symphony.
 
Sure. I'm not saying that a prospect shouldn't do the Senior Bowl. The practice of sitting out bowl games due to the risk of injury is a lame excuse. It has become fashionable to the point that even players who have no chance in hell of being drafted or of ever playing a down of pro football are starting to skip their team's bowl game. It's an absurd trend.

That's because the majority of bowl games are meaningless now. Over saturation and diminished value.
 
You are joking right? Do you think that is really the equivalent of being paid in a multi-million dollar industry? If you think providing an education is the on par with paying a coaching staff of your team over 10 million dollars a year then I cannot explain things to you because you really don't want to understand the athletes perspective. I'm guessing you have said "shut up and dribble" more than once in your lifetime.

Never mind the fact that the school gets more money back from their investment in the players that they put in.

The players are not even close to the biggest cost for the department. 12 games and all the practices for 4 years is more than enough work for their scholarships, anyway. And beyond that a good showing next year in the NFL is going to do much more for us long term than playing in a meaningless bowl game and possibly getting injured.
 
What I don't understand about Alontae is the video where he came back this year because he said there was more to accomplish. He hasn't seen a bowl game in years. I am surprised he is not excited to play this final game.

I don't know about Cade but the last time to play with his brother.

Both have dealt with nagging injuries this year though.
I still believe Taylor could drastically improve and upgrade his stock tremendously with another year on the college level!
 
Paid for by a SECN TV contract that nets UT a $40M check annually. UT covered the cost AT’s scholarship by Game 3 of the regular season.

The scholarship argument is such a straw man, to me.

No one demands that the physics major that is getting a full ride stay through the end of the year when he washes out because he parties too much, misses home, or just can't cut it. Oh, and the school doesn't care that they wasted that money, because even that kid helps their median ACT score, and median high school GPA for incoming students, etc.

It's all about trade-offs, and the tens of millions of dollars that having a football team pours into the UT coffers is more than enough of a benefit to offset Alontae not playing in the Music City Bowl .
 
If the guys know they are not going to be back next year, I don’t see that they are under any obligation to play one more down. And if they stand to make a lot of money when they leave, then I would not have a problem with them sitting out any game including playoff games. Why risk your future?
 
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The scholarship argument is such a straw man, to me.

No one demands that the physics major that is getting a full ride stay through the end of the year when he washes out because he parties too much, misses home, or just can't cut it. Oh, and the school doesn't care that they wasted that money, because even that kid helps their median ACT score, and median high school GPA for incoming students, etc.

It's all about trade-offs, and the tens of millions of dollars that having a football team pours into the UT coffers is more than enough of a benefit to offset Alontae not playing in the Music City Bowl .

The scholarship argument for football players doesn’t apply to kids on academic scholarships, because fans aren’t emotionally invested in that chemical engineering student on a full ride who’s smart enough to start his/her own consulting business by the end of their sophomore year.

Who cares if they leave school early? That kid won’t help us beat Bama.

Many fans are entitled and selfish….there’s no shortage of those fans in this thread.
 
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Alontae Taylor is not a sure fire draftee. He needs eyes on him and the Senior Bowl is a far better shot at exposure to NFL scouts than a bowl game. If he has a good week at the Senior Bowl, he can improve his position and thereby more money. If he gets hurt at the bowl game, that shot is gone. Pretty logical to put my effort into the Senior Bowl if I’m him.
because you can never get hurt at the Senior Bowl
 
That's a completely different subject.
So you believe he should/would/could come back to risk injury for a bowl game, but not another season? A season in which he could drastically improve his draft stock? TBH I haven't seen a lot from Taylor this year. He had a couple of pics and picked a two-point conversion off, but his man to man can get better and his Zone could get much better, IMO. I'm also pretty sure he could get better NIL money this year, compared to last year.
 
But your feelings can get hurt if he doesn’t play in a meaningless bowl game because the Senior Bowl is more important for his professional endeavors. 😂
Probably not. We've lived through the 2008-2020 football season. Sadly, terms like meaningless bowl games have been accepted by a program that failed to reach one last year. If we're talking about feelings. Again, I've said AT owes me nothing. I hope he does improve his 11-13 DB projection coming off a non ALL SEC year.
 
If they sit out, just to get to the nfl in a bowl game, then I consider them quitters. I consider them quitters to their team players, coaches, fans and the school.
Listen old man , as much as these kids have been through the last few years w the jokes of coaches of the last regime , they don’t owe anyone crap! A bowl game is for the next years players to get some extra practice as more full time players. The bowl game is the start of the 2022 team. Sheesh …
 
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We’re starting to see more and more of this each year, and it isn’t right. Something needs to be done about this situation. I believe they should play in the bowl game. Those teams that make the playoffs, you don’t see their players sitting out do you?
Uh they are in the PLAYOFFS, hence something to actually play for !! Use your brain
 
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So you believe he should/would/could come back to risk injury for a bowl game, but not another season? A season in which he could drastically improve his draft stock? TBH I haven't seen a lot from Taylor this year. He had a couple of pics and picked a two-point conversion off, but his man to man can get better and his Zone could get much better, IMO. I'm also pretty sure he could get better NIL money this year, compared to last year.

I'm saying the decision to skip another year of eligibility is different than skipping a meaningless bowl game once he decided to give up his remaining eligibility. If he thought 1 more year of college ball would help and he was coming back I'm sure he would be playing in the bowl game.
 
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