Last night, Florida State knocked off an injury-ridden Michigan team in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Michigan, which mounted a comeback only to give up the decisive score in the final :38 seconds, was without one of its premiere offensive weapons in star tight end Jake Butt.
The projected first-round pick suffered a potentially serious knee injury that could prevent him from participating in critical off-season showcases for NFL scouts. He claims to have no regrets despite the millions of dollars it might have caused him.
Butt tweeted his sentiments in the early morning hours:
https://twitter.com/JBooty_88/status/815075176228548608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This comes after the controversial decisions made my Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffery to sit out their respective bowl games. Both players chose to skip their team’s respective exhibition games to focus on their futures and the NFL Draft.
Many fear this will become commonplace for star players whose teams did not make it into the playoffs. With the College Football Playoff, there is less importance placed on other bowl games and therefore not worth the risk of injury in the mind of some players.
The issue is complicated, as football is a sport with a strong emphasis in the “one-unit” mentality played by unpaid student-athletes who are often hoping to parlay their football abilities into a comfortable life for their families.
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Photo Credit: Twitter/Michigan Football
