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Michigan star tight end Jake Butt tore his ACL against Florida State in the team’s Orange Bowl loss last Friday evening, re-opening the ongoing debate on whether top NFL prospects should skip their postseason games to prepare for the draft.
It did not take long before he addressed the conversation via social media:
https://twitter.com/JBooty_88/status/815075176228548608
Butt was considered a potential first-round selection come April’s draft, but the injury could have a major impact on how far he falls, similar to the situation that Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith had to face last season.
After watching Butt exit the game, Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio tweeted his support of players who are likely to be top NFL draft picks skipping non-playoff bowl games:
But skipping a bowl game is selfish and the he owed it to the university to play in that game… #wasgoingtobea1strounder pic.twitter.com/K0UF0q7Epn
— Luke Del Rio (@LDelRio12) January 1, 2017
It was LSU running back Leonard Fournette who kickstarted the hot topic when he announced he would not be playing in the Citrus Bowl vs. Louisville, citing he needed to step away to heal and get ready for the next level as a potential top-five pick.
This is not a conversation that is going to go away anytime soon, but it should be noted that these are individual decisions, and there is simply no right or wrong answer.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
