THE GRUDGE REPORT/ Playing in a bowl game shouldn't be risky business

Full disclosure time, A Jersey Guy is a Weather Channel fanatic.

In the winter, especially here in the Northeast, I follow weather patterns more than college basketball results (until March). In the summer and early fall, I watch tropical waves as they come off the coast of Africa and track their direction as they move across the Atlantic.

I can say with some pride that I issued a warning about Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 when it followed an unusual path in the South Atlantic. I watched in dismay as it grew into a Category 3 storm and moved into the Northeast and created havoc along the Jersey shore.

I regard the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore as a rock star celebrity who has shown up twice in the Massachusetts town where I live during hurricane season. I would immediately get calls from my friends in Alabama and California, checking to see how I was doing.

What in the name of Wide World of Sports has this have to do with college football?

Glad you asked.

I have spotted a trend that makes me uneasy about the long term future of the sport. I am again looking at the number of healthy---this is a key term--college football players who are good enough to merit consideration to play in the National Football League next season. The trend is more and more of these players will not play in their teams' bowl games.

Right now, it's just a blip--a dozen or so blue chip athletes will not play in the post season--and prepare for the NFL draft next spring.

The most high profile name is Ed Oliver, the defensive lineman out of Houston, who announced on Nov. 30th that he was done playing for the Cougars. He will sit out Houston's Armed Forces Bowl meeting with Army on Dec. 22. Oliver is a projected Top 5 pick in the draft and had other issues with Houston coach Major Applewhite.

The only players skipping New Year's Six bowl appearances are Greedy Williams, an LSU cornerback who will skip the Tigers' Fiesta Bowl meeting with UCF on Jan. 1. Joing him is Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary, who will not play in the Peach Bowl against Florida. But Gary had a previous shoulder injury earlier in the season, so maybe we can cut him some slack.

The most recent announcements came last week when West Virginia, which is slated to face Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28th in Orlando, will be short starting QB Will Grier and OT Yodny Cajuste.

Now don't get me wrong. Playing in what amounts to meaningless bowl games--not for a national championship--does make sense if you project yourself as a first- or-even-early second round NFL draft pick.

Too much is at stake and all anyone has to do is look at the catastrophic and potentially career- ending leg injury UCF QB McKenzie Milton suffered last month. It should make anyone pause before making a choice to play or not play in the post season.

There was a huge outcry from fans a few years ago when LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey skipped their bowl games. Both were drafted in the Top 10 of the first round and both players have developed into NFL stars. LSU and Stanford both survived and we moved on.

But here's my question: What happens when a high first round potential draft pick skips a College Football Playoff game to get ready for the NFL draft?

Where would Oklahoma be if Heisman winning QB Kyler Murray, who also has a baseball career in development (more than $4 million signing bonus from the Oakland A's), said he was done playing college football . What if he announced this week he was skipping his team's national semifinal game Alabama in the Orange Bowl?

What if Alabama QB QB Tua Tagovailoa,, who is not eligible for the NFL draft until the spring of 2020 (three years after graduating high school is the rule) and who finished second in the Heisman to Murray this season, decides in the middle of next season he doesn't want to risk an injury and is sitting out the remainder of the Tide's season?

Can't happen? Won't happen? Don't bet against it.

Here's a compromise which many star athletes are already using. Take out catastrophic injury insurance of at least 1 million dollars BEFORE you're college season begins.

Too much money?

Well maybe since the premium could be anywhere from $10,,000 to $30,000 or $40,000 for coverage which could somewhat compensate for a major injury, the school can start a fund (let's say $50,000 a year, which is right around the NCAA average for 1 season) to cover such costs.

The schools would have better insurance that they will get full seasons from all of their athletes and the players would have financial security.

Both sides would benefit.

One thing is clear.

The trend for prime players sitting out more and more games at the end of their college career is trending in the wrong direction for the sport.

I can see it coming, like a tropical wave developing in the Atlantic.