Could Change Be Coming to College Football?
A new day could be on the horizon in college football as it's likely that more and more star players could decide to opt-out not only this season but in the future.
Last week LSU star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase announced that he would be opting-out of the 2020 season. It would have been his last either way, but now his team is left with another significant hole to fill entering their first game on Sept. 26.
Chase is considered by most "experts" as a top-10 NFL draft pick come next April, and it is in his best interest to forgo another season in college where he could fall victim to COVID-19 or injuries.
Chase won't be the last this season, and he has possibly opened Pandora's Box for future top prospects to follow his lead and leave early to protect their status.
Currently, college football players are required by NFL rules to be three seasons removed from their final season in high school to be able to enter the league's draft. Players entering college are not physically ready for what the NFL has to offer, thus the need for the three seasons of growth at the intercollegiate level.
Now in the face of the new challenges of COVID-19, this will become a more common occurrence for top players, where sitting out their final season allows them to concentrate only on becoming physically ready for the NFL.
College football, as we know, is changing forever, and this is just one of the new waves we will see in the coming seasons as players are increasingly only going to college because it is the window to a possible professional career in football.
Of course, not every player is a top talent, and not all can afford to make such a decisions. This will not be the end of college football, but it will mean that fans and media alike should enjoy these top talents more in the future because they won't be here for three years in the near future.
