Kirk Herbstreit, Mack Brown among those calling out Royce Freeman during Oregon’s bowl game

More and more players are beginning to skip bowl games before heading to the NFL Draft, and ESPN’s commentators took time to sound off on Oregon RB Royce Freeman during the Las Vegas Bowl.

Oregon’s offense came out flat against Boise State in the first half and did not manage any points until the fourth quarter. The Ducks were only down 24-14 at halftime, thanks to two defensive TDs, but they were never able to find consistency on the afternoon and fell to Boise State by a score of 38-28.

It is fair to speculate if having Freeman on the field would have made a difference. The senior RB, who sat out of the bowl game to remain healthy for the NFL Draft, had 1,475 yards rushing and 16 TDs this season and was a big part of Oregon’s offense.

Mack Brown discussed Freeman’s decision to sit out the bowl game at halftime, and he indicated that he would not have allowed him to travel to the game. As far as Brown is concerned, Freeman wouldn’t be a part of the team anymore if he sat out the bowl.

Kevin Wade shared a screenshot of Brown’s full comments:

Multiple people took issue at Brown’s comments and other comments from Kirk Herbstreit throughout the game, but others did agree that having Freeman address the team without playing was an odd choice:

@KirkHerbstreit Terrible take on Royce Freeman. You're better than that. Was just voted by his teammates as MVP. He's looked up to by all. To tell TV audience Ducks should have banned him from sidelines because he's turning pro? C'mon. Low, low comment.

— Mighty Oregon (@MightyOregon) December 16, 2017

Don't usually react to commentary, but Davis/Herbsteit bashing of Royce really irked me. No mention of Taggart lying to then abandoning this team, yet Royce shouldn't speak up after giving everything he had to this program for 4 years. That double standard pisses me off #GoDucks

— Andy Johnson (@TheDirtJohnson) December 17, 2017

https://twitter.com/ryanjohnson_99/status/942160165205262336

I continue to be mystified why anyone cares if players skip bowl games. https://t.co/i0W2kZ9jS2

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 16, 2017

For a team that fought hard for Mario Christobal to be HC, they sure played flat today…Learning experience for Mario…can still be players coach & be tough/disciplined…Having Royce Freeman speak to team after deciding he didn't want to play was a mistake/bad message to team

— Landry Football (@LandryFootball) December 17, 2017

How do you feel about players sitting out bowl games?

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.