Hey folks - as a member of the DawgNation community, please remember to abide by simple rules of civil engagement with other members:
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
- Personal attacks on other community members are unacceptable, practice the good manners your mama taught you when engaging with fellow Dawg fans
- Use common sense and respect personal differences in the community: sexual and other inappropriate language or imagery, political rants and belittling the opinions of others will get your posts deleted and result in warnings and/ or banning from the forum
- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
Comments
I guess these players that are opting out feel they have given enough and it's time to start looking towards the future. I don't like it, but I understand it. Hopefully most of these guys will see the value in playing for UGA one more time and makes us proud at whatever bowl game we end up playing in. No mater who shows up, I'm going to be rooting for them and expect Kirby will have the team ready. Go Dawgs!
Non-playoff bowl games are, indeed, glorified scrimmages. Should be 8 team playoff- power 5 conference champs and 3 at-large bids. After this year, I think any player who opts out of even ONE game including a bowl "scrimmage" becomes immediately ineligible for ANY individual postseason awards - Butkus, Heisman, Doak Walker, Ray Guy, etc. Then people can talk all they want about what WOULD have been. "He should have won the Heisman, but he opted out of the last three games of the year, therefore, he wasn't eligible."
College football becoming NFL light. Players who are, essentially, free agents, can and do leave for better opportunities, whether it be through transfer portal (= free agent market), or to the NFL. How about a school scholarship is a "contract" to which a player is bound.
I stopped watching the spoiled children of the NFL a couple years ago. I am guessing I have about 5 more years of NCAA football before I turn that off, too. Hope NCAA gets a handle on this.
Our bowl game is going to be a good match-up against the undefeated bearcats. Zero chance, I say ZERO chance Clemson loses to Notre Dame twice with Lawrence under center.
All due respect to what the opting-out players have accomplished and done for UGA (you are DGDs!), but if you aren't playing in the bowl game, I hope you do not get enjoy the "festivities" and travel with the team. Save those spots for the folks that are still ON THE DA RN TEAM!
Agree.
I very much dislike this opting out stuff.
All players should feel obligated and be obligated to the university and feel duty bound to their brothers on the team. Playing in the bowls should be part of their contract. Opting out of the bowl should mean putting a lien on their NFL bonus to pay the university back for their athletic scholarship.
Just my 2 cents. I'll run it by Kirby Saturday night when we're playing poker and watching the Alabama beatdown of the University of West Gainesville.
Go, Dawgs!
I will miss seeing them play but look, these kids pursuit of economic empowerment is directly tied to having healthy bodies and not bachelor degrees and while it is important to be educated, degrees are not a prerequisite to potentially make millions in the NFL. It is too much to risk for some of them to play in a non-playoff bowl game because if a career ending injury occurs, would a non-playoff bowl game have been worth it? Yes, they could just as easily suffer the same fate in a playoff game but for every kid faced with that decision, they all have played. I have not heard of one kid from any team opting out of a playoff game. If a kid is drafted in the 1st or 2nd round, his contract will be more worth than 99% of what educated Americans will earn in their lifetimes. Why should they risk that for a New Year's Six Bowl?
Please let's stop with this noise of how much these schools invest in the kids as if there's no trade off, albeit an unequitable monetary trade off. The schools gets millions of dollars because of the entertainment revenue the kids bring in (ticket sales, etc. and television) and the kids get the opportunity to go to classes without having to pay cash for them among other things. The athletes enable the schools to pay head coaches multi millions per year and most on the staff 6 or 7 figures per year and that allows them to support their families with primary residences and vacation homes and private schools but somehow a kid is disloyal to the school if he wants to pursue the opportunity to do the same thing for his own family while he still has collegiate eligibility. I'm not opposed to what coaches and staff earn but I am opposed to the noise that somehow these kids should be humbly grateful for their scholarships as if their talents didn't earn the scholarships. My talent was no where near good enough for an athletic scholarship and if someone had offered me one, I would have been humbly grateful.
Dr. Fauci secured his bag through education and decades of experience, Trevor Lawrence is going to secure his bag through three years of college football and God bless them both because formal education is not the only way in America to secure your bag.
To all of the underclassmen who leave early, thank you for making Georgia Saturdays the special day it has been for decades. Now, go get your money!
Go Dawgs!
Do not under estimate Cincinnati, they are in the top ten for a reason!
This has got to stop. Universities pour a lot of time and effort into these players, expecting them to fulfill their obligations. If this was reversed and Georgia said you couldn’t play, players would have a fit. Opt out = quit. It’s a shame that these players quit on their teammates. I understand trying to protect their future, but they play all year until their isn’t anything to play for other than pride. If they have to start paying players, then they should be made to play in every game. No quitting, I mean opting out.
"Among Bulldog(s) opting out"?
There are two so far....so why speculate.
Typical MG....wanting to make a grand/exaggerated
column. Everything else is "might", "maybe" or "possibly".
Can we stick to facts for once....geez I'm tired of MG's lousy reporting
yeah...they don't get free apparel, shoes, room and board, meals, class materials, a $30,000 set of practice and game gear, preparing them for NFL by showcasing talent, education (degree), etc.
If the shoe were on the other foot, we'd be screaming that the players were let down. Whatever happen to finishing what you started and honoring commitments. When these guys leaving like this....the are letting down their teammates, the university and shows a quitters mentality. Who wants a quitter who opts out in the NFL when the going gets rough? Tired of this...
So, I know this is a stretch, but with your logic, the opting out players should also not ride in a car, ride a motorcycle, cross a street, etc, as those might result in injury and affect their draft stock. I call BS. They are FOOTBALL players. The risk to a career-ending injury is similar for the bowl game as it is when they are a freshman. If they are so worried about it, they should just sit for 3 years and go pro without taking a college snap.
I will still enjoy watching them play in a New Year's Day bowl and will also enjoy watching some of those long time loyal Dawgs like Nate McBride see more field time. Would also like another chance to see Milton carry the ball some more!!
Good point. What if UGA told Stetson, "Hey, we have so much talent at qb. We can't afford to have you on the team, any more. Too much risk that the younger guys won't get playing time. Therefore, we are opting out of your scholarship. Best of luck to you."
To those who are of the mindset "they are doing what is right, for THEM.", why can't the University do the same? Both have committed resources into the other. Imagine the outcry if a University "opted out" of a scholarship, for a player.
This opting out crap has to stop.
new guy posting on DN here. i'm a little surprised with DJ opting out. Thought he might be one to use that free year to see about improving draft stock. All in favor of Rice; he needs to get healthy. I'm not of a strong opinion about the opt out thing either way; pros and cons with a big plus having these practices and game situations for younger players with big expectations next year. To me, the more important ones to watch will be Davis, Stokes, and Campbell; probably going, but sure would be nice to stay.
In today's world, "high character" does not mean what it did when I was younger. There is way too much money involved in so many areas. I truly feel that nearly all of the young men who are part of UGA sports have a high level of character compared to the average found in today's world. In the end, each young athlete has to decide what is best for him and his family. I wish there could be a way to provide insurance for these athletes so that they would be protected in case of severe injury, especially for those who have risked that injury time and again in games to develop their skills to the point that it could result in their success at the next level. Of course, even if they make it there, they could be injured in attempting to "make the team" in professional sports. Injury is always a risk in their chosen career path. I am not happy about "opting out", but I will ( perhaps wrongly ) believe that their ties to their teammates is something that makes it hard for them to take that course of action, thus, I wish they could have insurance that would realistically cover their true losses from an injury late in their college careers.
Something we need to remember. This is not a typical bowl season. No fans in the stands, limited time for teams in host city, and virtually no team festivities. Players have been opting out of games and the entire season this year. Why be surprised that a few Dawgs chose to opt out of the bowl? Dawg Nation is blessed that the team held together as brothers even after the loss to UF.