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SI article on opt-outs featuring Rousseau

ajone228 said:
Like some of the points you presented.

I think my primary argument is based on the availability/frequency of testing as a student athlete in comparison to opting out. The amount of unknowns obviously is the grey area that makes this decision interesting.

You‘re right, there’s a lot of unknowns about Gregory’s health and whether he got Covid or anything else.
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OK, fair points. But it was widely reported that our football players were being tested twice per week during the season, which may not have been enough. And there were some instances where the timing of tests in the ACC (versus travel requirements) created havoc, like when F$U cancelled a game THAT MORNING.

Also, we DO KNOW that Al Blades Jr. contracted myocarditis, which many on this board claimed was a near-impossibility when they mocked the Big 10 for citing myocarditis as a reason for cancelling the 2020 season.

I do agree with you in one regard. The sports world has had access to more frequent testing than what is (mostly) available to the general public. Although we recently saw differences in the QUALITY of the testing between NCAA men's basketball tournament participants and women's basketball tournament participants.

As for the behavior of university students across the country (of which the athletes are a sub-set), it has not been encouraging over the past year.

I'm sad that Greg missed out on a year of school and a year of football. But I don't think he (and the other draft-eligible players who opted out) should be labeled as "character" concerns.
 
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ajone228 said:
Did you not see how many people in the world got Covid? Don't think they all play football. Who's to say the football players that got Covid got it from being around players or coaches and not family members, friends etc...

All i'm saying is I see the struggle from a parents perspective with the unknown but id rather have my child in a controlled environment with strict safety protocols and frequent testing.
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From my point of the view, that 'controlled' environment is more risky than not participating. Yes, you have a lot of procedures put in place to try to limit exposure, but those are there to combat all of the extra chances of exposure that you have.

I am not in a controlled environment, but I have been able to do things to limit my potential exposure while still being able to function fine. Obviously there are a lot of variables to consider, but I am fully confident that my likelihood of being exposed to COVID would have been much higher if I was playing football (or other similar situations).
 
By the way, one of these DEs is actually named "Kwity". I hope that NFL teams investigate his "character" too, and whether he got that name because of his work ethic...
 
Regardless of the circumstance its definitely a legitimate question when it comes to that type interview . That's the job of the guys who get paid to do those face to face interviews to ask those type questions, so I have no problem asking it.

He shouldn't have been terribly surprised either and if anyone had is best interest, they would have let him know to expect it, and think how he would answer.
 
DMoney said:
I agree with you on the first part. It was always safer to play. But we’re talking about a mother and her son in a time of uncertainty. Her fears were probably genuine after some of the things she had seen.

Rousseau never struck me as a guy who just wanted money. His background isn’t particularly rough and his coaches always gave him glowing reviews as a teammate (unlike Garvin and Bandy the year before).
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Why was it safer to play? I can understand the argument that the extra risk was worth the tradeoff, but how can being around a bunch of people everyday be safer?
 
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Bottom line is a 19/20 year old young man made an extremely difficult decision based not only on what was best for him, but was also best for his family. I have nothing but respect for that. And it really doesn’t matter what anyone but his future employer/s think, feel, believe. His decision doesn’t seem to have harmed his future employment.
 
No one, whose job was to evaluate these kids would have been doing their job if they did not ask him this question. Football is a team sport where you risk injury and career every time you step on the field. Not everyone is made for that battle. I think its valid to want to know the whole story. If he got a job so his mom could not be a nurse on the front lines then props. But I would want to know if he made this decision to reduce the risks for him (or his family) and I would want to know if he still participated in activities that did not reduce the risks. The latter would be highly questionable move and possible evidence of a character issue. To me its really that simple.
 
I don't begrudge Greg or any other player for that matter for opting out. Yes, initially I was slightly upset, but that was for purely selfish reasons. I don't think anyone here honestly believes Greg is a quitter or a bad teammate and that he opted out to take some kind of shortcut to the NFL. We had major outbreaks and the majority of the team contracted covid and as far as I know the players who opted out remained virus-free, so in that regard I guess you can say it was not a bad decision. And yes, the overwhelming majority of players will be fine, but what about those few who develop myocarditis? I have no medical knowledge whatsoever and it seems that myocarditis does resolve on it's own over time, but it's easy for us sitting at our computers to dismiss it and say "yeah they'll be fine", but put yourself in Al Blades shoes. He has a chance at the NFL in his sights, develops a heart condition and has to miss the rest of the season. He was probably worrying about his future every day. For the average person maybe not as big of a deal, but we're talking about elite athletes who cannot afford even a 1% disadvantage.

And I find it laughable that all these teams are grilling the players who opted out about their decisions when everyone knows they don't give a **** about it or skipping bowl games. Micah Parsons, Rashawn Slater, Penei Sewell and Caleb Farley will all be 1st round picks. Ja'marr Chase opted out and is still projected top 10, AHEAD of DeVonta Smith who had one of the greatest seasons ever. So when an NFL team says they are concerned about character in the opt-out players that is a lie, but you know what they will worried about? A myocarditis diagnosis on their medical record. You can be **** sure they'll red flag that player and knock him down a few spots or take him off their board entirely. Comparing true character issue prospects like Jamarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf with Greg is just asinine. In fact, you could look at some of the opt-out guys and actually place character in the positive column. They are away from their teammates, facilities and strength staff and day-in and day-out they are grinding on their own. Most of them had terrific pro days which would not be the case if they just sat around. Does anyone look at Greg and think he half-assed it during his time off? Rousseau seems like a great kid, I hope he has a long successful career and makes a ton of money. I don't care if he played one season or four, he balled out. Besides, his lasting impact will not be the 15.5 sacks, it's his getting drafted in the 1st round. We can sell that to future recruits that we took a 209 pound 3 star kid and turned him into a multi-millionaire DE. This is college football, players are here so short a time, it's the coaching staffs job to get the next star ready.
 
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lol greg pro day is why he dropping ....guys who opted out either had big pro days chase,parsons, slater,sewell,rondale....
guys who didnt and can possibly slide is like farley/GR/shaun wade and others. I still think he could go 1st but it'll be in the 20's i see him as a late 1st early 2nd rd pick which is still great for UM lol.
 
DMoney said:
He opted out because his mom was a COVID nurse and she begged him to do it.

Obviously, it was not the best football decision. He would’ve gotten double-digit sacks in his sleep and been a lock Top 10 pick. Now he’s looking at a potential Calais Campbell situation.
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DMoney..........Mom won, but it will cost GR major $$$$$$$'s for the sit.
 
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nycane said:
It’s true. Guys are viewed as quitters.
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I posted this when it happened. Multiple scouts said no matter what people say it hurts the kids and the narrative is they’re quitters. Which is a red flag. They’ll still get drafted but I’m sure it’ll hurt the positioning . Especially if the kids had returned.

Btw GR wanted to play but agents talked him and the family Into sitting out. Which imo was the wrong decision for him, oh well. He’ll be ok.
 
HighSeas said:
Regardless of the reasoning it's another good cautionary tale for young Canes who see their names plastered on early ESPN mock drafts.

Also remains to be seen if Micah Parsons gets the draft capital he was expecting when he opted out, and his 2019 film is elite.
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I think Parsons will be a better indicator. You, of all people, know that GR isn’t a finished product. I can see why he might slip.

Parsons looks like the total package and has more film. He will be telling.
 
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DMoney said:
Daily testing and protocols. He was going to be around people either way.
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With all due respect, I NEVER saw anything that said that the ACC (or UM) was doing DAILY testing. 2x per week is what the standard was.
 
BostonCanes47 said:
Love GR and understand his decision to sit out, but when was the last time a guy sat out a year and went in the first or 2nd round? Unless you’re a HOF type coach or GM, you run the high risk of sinking your career by drafting a bust in the 1st round...especially a guy who sat out a year, only had a year of tape, and has some durability concerns. Not saying that GR will be a bust, I actually think the opposite, but I understand why teams are being cautious with him.
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When was the last time we had a worldwide pandemic?

NFL teams may decide that they rather someone who did play and I understand that and your point about the risk there, but certainly there is more to consider in regards to sitting out a season compared to previous years.
 
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