I agree, two totally different things IMO. If guys opt out of a bowl game to prepare and train for the NFL, that's one thing. I may not like it, but won't hold it against them. To quit on your teammates in the middle of a regular season, quite another.
ZaQuandre White
- Thread starter teeroy_b
- Start date
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
Problem is, those coaches were laughing all the way to the bank. Why shouldn't guys that have a chance at an NFL contract take the time to look out for number one?
So it would seem to me that we should just stop labeling everyone as quitters altogether and just wish them well.. These are still high school kids, right?
But couldn't we make an argument that our 2014 team would have been light years better with Clowney on it? Couldn't we say that he also left his team high and dry? Again, where do we draw the line? And why do we?
I hate to break to you. But outside of the teams playing for a national championship or MAYBE a NY6 bowl, all those games ARE meaningless (outside of their fanbases.
As for the regular season, I think it matters more in that you may want to see where on the pecking order you finish. It's a measuring stick.
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
When we hired SOS I knew it was a recipe for disaster having him and Snyder in the same building.
That's my point. The game was meaningless. As soon as it's deemed ok for players to quit on a season and skip a bowl game - which it is perfectly acceptable, now - the dam is broken. At some point, players will quit on a season as soon as they're out of contention for a championship.
Just look how far we've come in such a short period of time. McCaffrey was the first to skip a bowl game, if I recall. That was literally five years ago. Now Z. White, a fringe NFL player or late round pick, is skipping the bowl game. Last year we had several plays quit in the middle of the season. Obviously last year was weird, so it's likely just an anomaly. But at some point it won't be.
Again, there's a clear delineation between skipping a game within a season and leaving without exhausting eligibility. Would I prefer that he have stayed? Of course. But he fulfilled his obligation to the university by playing out his three years, which were required for him to be draft eligible. He didn't skip the Outback bowl.
I’d say this bowl game is very meaningful to Beamer and the staff. You have to consider the fact that this is his 1st season as a HC. This is the difference between a winning season and a losing season.
It’s funny but reading this made me realize how much free agency ruined my love of MLB. You used to have a core group of guys that you could follow and when it got to be that guys numbers were closer to the amount of teams they have played on than anything else my interest started dropping.
CFB is a bit different since most people have a real tie to a program but I do wonder how much the portal, NIL, players skipping games will start to carry that same drag on people.
Lol. Doesn’t everything always end up that way with Snyder?
I had a similar conversation with another poster. It all comes down to you can't force a kid to play in a violent game if they just don't want to play in it. There is literally no recourse.
To be fair, how many players were skipping bowls then? Regardless, the question was asked earlier why Deebo was demonized (and that's being kind) for sitting out and not risking ANOTHER injury. Why do people feel like he owed us something? He very well could have jeopardized the career he's currently enjoying.
I understand. But a year from now, not many outside of the the teams' fanbases will remember (or care) who won the game. It sucks, but that's just the way it is.
The reason many so many people besides myself that consider so many of these bowls meaningless is because there are so many bowls now.
Long gone are the days when the entire college football world hung on to every play of the handful of bowls that were played. They were a reward for teams that had GOOD seasons. Not mediocre ones.
Nowadays with forty-one bowl games, it's statistically harder to NOT make a bowl than it is to make one. Obviously, I hope we win and stomp the Tarholes flat. But it won't be the end of the world if we don't -- for us or Beamer.
If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I'd say he goes undrafted unless he really impresses in some workouts. He's only had one good season.
Right. There really is no way to force them to play under the current system, because anything related to a scholarship would be used against you in recruiting.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out in the future with NIL money. For example, the Texas o-line deal for $50k a year. Will that be contingent on playing all games? Another possibility would be for the bowls to sweeten the pot in the gifts and make it worthwhile for players to play. Obviously, they could never make it enough to compete with top NFL prospects, but perhaps they could for someone like Z. White.
Anyway, I think it stinks that players sit out. Quitting is never admirable, no matter the reasoning or justifications provided.
People on this board have talked about perception of the program being very important. We won 6 games, 2 against blue bloods. But we didn’t beat any ranked teams. If we’re looking for as many positives as possible, 7-6 looks a lot better than 6-7. No, it won’t be the end of the world, but isn’t it important to look a little bit better as we try to embrace more of a positive winning culture going forward?
Dunno...but picking and choosing when they are "quitters" seems self serving, don't ya think?
Was White a quitter when he left FSU for JUCO? If he's a quitter now, then he's been one ever since he arrived at USC.
...and USC promotes players like Deebo as "Gamecocks in the pros".
Seems a double standard if we are promoting "quitters".
This bowl game means nothing as far as potential draft stock. Pro scouts already know who these players are and what they’re capable of. If he gets hurt in a meaningless bowl game then he’s got almost zero chance if it’s a serious injury.
FWIW, Wes Mitchell said earlier on 107.5 that Beamer has left open the possibility that White could still play.
Stay tuned...
Stay tuned...
The ones who bitch about him "quiting" are the first to abandon him if he were to have a career ending injury in the bowl game. They are complete hypocrites. If the NFL is a real possibility, you drop college for the potential of life changing money. You can bitch and moan all you want about him "quiting" but unless you are paying his and his family's bills, go eabod.
Heck I quit on this thread after only making 2 posts. Sorry y'all.
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
It's only a double standard as far as fans are concerned. The University never called these guys quitters. That's solely an entitled fan reaction.
