Stanfords Christian McCaffrey to skip Sun Bowl to prepare for draft

[Auggie]

Christian McCaffrey, college football’s most elusive running back, has executed another startling change of directions.

The Stanford tailback announced Monday on Twitter that he will not play in the Sun Bowl in order to “direct his focus and efforts toward training for the 2017 NFL draft.”

The decision was a shocker, given the junior’s repeated statements lauding his teammates and his acknowledgment that his achievements were due in large part to their blocking.

Presumably on the advice of his agent and his father, Ed, a former NFL wide receiver, McCaffrey has decided to quit the team. It’s possible that concerns over a possible injury in the Dec. 30 bowl game against North Carolina in El Paso, Texas, trumped his loyalty to his teammates.

http://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/Surprise-McCaffrey-to-skip-Sun-Bowl-to-prepare-10806035.php

Smart move to skip a meaningless exhibition game. I think it underscores how absurd the Bowl System has become. Expect more to follow.

[El Supremo]

1. If it had been the Rose Bowl would he have pussed out?

This is where I greatly differ with you Aug. Christian is from Denver, where I have lived for 36+ years. Denverites are very excited about his excellent playing. I would have loved to watch him in the Sun Bowl, the second oldest bowl and always one of my favorites.

Does he think the Sun Bowl is not worth his stature? Is he just putting off his inevitable ACL injury until after he gets a pro contract?

Since you hate the NFL so much, wouldn't you think that a good college bowl performance is more important?

I also want to know if he will finish his degree at Stanford which would help him if he washes out in the pros.

[Auggie]

2. I don't fault him for following the money

His dad, Ed McCaffrey, played in the NFL and is advising him. An ACL in college could cost him millions. If he washes out in the pros he'll be young and rich enough to finish the degree.

Al Saracevic of the San Francisco Chronicle puts it better than I can:

... for premier players such as McCaffrey — and LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who cites a lingering ankle injury as his reason for skipping the Citrus Bowl — there is little upside to playing a bowl game. They potentially have millions riding on their health. With the draft combine just more than two months away, why should they risk their futures?

Just ask Jaylon Smith, the Notre Dame linebacker who injured his knee in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. A projected top five NFL pick, Smith fell to the second round and didn’t play in 2016. That bowl game literally cost him millions.

It’s not surprising that McCaffrey took this route. By all accounts, he’s a bright kid with a brighter future. His father and agent, Ed, played 13 years in the NFL. He knows that football is pure business. The game uses you up until you’re no longer usable. There should be no sentimentality in these decisions.

LINK (may need a subscription to fact check, but you can trust me): http://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/McCaffrey-exposes-college-football-s-bogus-bowl-10806938.php

Saracevic's editorial also blasts the Bowl system. But this one sentence really jumped out at me: The game uses you up until you’re no longer usable. There should be no sentimentality in these decisions.

[Angleae]

3. This decision is going to cost him millions.

He has been projected to be a mid 1st round pick but NFL teams look at things other than what you do on the field, they also look at character. This decision of his tells everyone that he thinks that he is more important than the team and coaches and GMs don't particularly like that. Watch his draft stock fall from 1st round to 2nd or 3rd.

[JonLP24]

4. I think the NFL & GMs love the NCAA

For providing a farm system that they don't have to pay for BTW the pro leagues would love to have the power and control that the NCAA has.

Besides the #1 reason players are leaving early is because of rookie scale pay so there is little incentive to stick around and improve your draft stock. The difference between mid 1st or 2nd round is smaller so the goal is to hurry up and play off the rookie contract, sign the bigger contract.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. I Already Heard On An ESPN Talk Show. . .

. . .that it's doubtful it will matter to GM's. Skipping on the CFB playoffs might raise more eyebrows, but Polian and Riddick (both long time front office guys) said it wouldn't affect his draft position.

[JonLP24]

6. Bruce Arians says it matters to him

That's the GMs' call but I'm sure he has a lot of input. However, they already have a RB so they likely weren't going to draft Fournette or McCaffery