What should Jadeveon Clowney do?

[Lake Camelot]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--ev...223714245.html

He wouldn't be popular for it. But I think he should to get in the draft.

He saw first hand what happened to his teamate. Too big of risk to lose his career in the NFL because of injury.

I am sure most won't agree, but I think it is the rules that are the problem.

[blmillini]

He should go as soon as he can if he can get the money. NFL careers are too short and risk of injury too high.

[MikeThomas4Prez]

He should take out insurance and play. The rules are the same for everybody. No special treatment because the kid had a really great year. He can leave after his junior year just like everyone else.

[UIUC2008]

Prohibiting anyone over the age of 16 from being able to earn money in a profession is absolutely absurd.

If a kid can go and work to make a living at Walgreens, painting, or being a pop star at this age I don't understand how athletics is off limits.

The NFL and NBA just abuse the NCAA and these age limit rules as free marketing machines. What happened to Lattimore last year and countless others in the past is a travesty that should never happen again.

[radiodj]

I think he should play. No one player is bigger than the team and sitting out would show he thinks otherwise.

[superjorge1]

Strap it up and play. Hundreds of players have come back to play another year of college and not got injured, but you only hear about the handful that it didn't work out for. One more year of exposure will only help him with endorsement contracts and make him more money.

[MikeThomas4Prez]

Originally Posted by UIUC2008

Prohibiting anyone over the age of 16 from being able to earn money in a profession is absolutely absurd.

If a kid can go and work to make a living at Walgreens, painting, or being a pop star at this age I don't understand how athletics is off limits.

The NFL and NBA just abuse the NCAA and these age limit rules as free marketing machines. What happened to Lattimore last year and countless others in the past is a travesty that should never happen again.

How dare he get a free education.

Are you serious 16 year olds in the NFL?. They would be killed. The majority of players are nowhere near ready physically or mentally until they are upperclassmen. Yes there will be a few expections, but tough luck.

[radiodj]

Originally Posted by MikeThomas4Prez

How dare he get a free education.

Are you serious 16 year olds in the NFL?. They would be killed. The majority of players are nowhere near ready physically or mentally until they are upperclassmen. Yes there will be a few expections, but tough luck.

Plus 1 million! This is a pet peeve of mine in both football and basketball. High school kids are not ready for pro in either sports. Lebron was a rare case because he had the body of a grown man. But it even took Kobe, KG and others 3 or 4 years to be superstars. High school kids going pro too early makes botg the college and pro game worse.

[cuillini]

Change his last name. No one will ever take a player seriously with a last name like Clowney.

[Ransom Stoddard]

Originally Posted by UIUC2008

Prohibiting anyone over the age of 16 from being able to earn money in a profession is absolutely absurd.

If a kid can go and work to make a living at Walgreens, painting, or being a pop star at this age I don't understand how athletics is off limits.

The NFL and NBA just abuse the NCAA and these age limit rules as free marketing machines. What happened to Lattimore last year and countless others in the past is a travesty that should never happen again.

It isn't absurd if they aren't capable of performing at that level. You don't see too many 16 year old insurance agents, police officers, or airline pilots.

[Holdemall]

Redshirt.

[IlliniJeffrey]

Originally Posted by Lake Camelot

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--ev...223714245.html

He wouldn't be popular for it. But I think he should to get in the draft.

He saw first hand what happened to his teamate. Too big of risk to lose his career in the NFL because of injury.

I am sure most won't agree, but I think it is the rules that are the problem.

He'd be crazy to sit out in my opinion.

First of all, yes, the kid should be able to go pro now. The NFL has rules for how old a kid has to be before he can be in the draft, and that's probably because they think they know what age he needs to be before he's physically mature. I myself think that once you've played 2 full years in D-1 college football, you are physically ready to go, regardless of when your high school class graduated. He should be eligible now.

But it doesn't matter what we think, he's not eligible, and I think it's ridiculous to suggest that the kid sit out the season. There are a bunch of reasons for this.

First of all, how many cases have there been where a stud defensive player had his earning potential blown because of an injury in college? Can anyone recall a single one? There have been guys who had some skeletons come out, or who regressed under the bright lights, but I don't recall a single one whose future was derailed by injury. RBs, yes, but there have been very few of those as well. McGahee is one, but he still was drafted in Round One, and he had about as bad an injury as I've ever seen. We don't know how Lattimore will turn out, though he was never an explosive back, even when healthy.

Even if Clowney does get injured, medicine is so advanced now that he would likely get fixed up good as new. He's so good that even a serious injury*which there is actually no precedent for that I can recall) would keep him in the top half of the first round. If it's a career ender(which is about a million to one), then the insurance policy that he better have by now would kick in.

Now, what if he sits out? That would prove that he is out for only himself. He came in with a bunch of kids in his recruiting class who have gone to war with him since day one, and he's just going to bail on them? Aren't there a bunch of other kids on his team with NFL aspirations as well? If I'm an NFL exec and he actually has the stones to sit out, it tells me that in a tough spot during the season, he might not give 100% if his next contract is on the line. He defined his overll priorities. He moves down my draft board in that case, because I'll take a kid with similar talent who has proven he'll play his ass off on every play. If he sat out, he'd fall farther down my draft board than he would if he was coming off a serious injury.

Lastly, just because you avoid injury by sitting out your last year in college, it doesn't mean you'll be good to go when you actually decide to play. An injury can happen on any play. Is Clowney going to always be trying to avoid injury? Most people will tell you that that's how you actually do get hurt.

Overall, IMO it makes much more sense to do what every other kid has done in this situation, just play. At the end of the day, sitting out causes as many questions to be asked about your ability to be great as an injury would.

[IlliniJeffrey]

I am also compelled to say that Clowney has said he will play, and has given no indication that he has even considered sitting out.

[Holdemall]

Originally Posted by IlliniJeffrey

At the end of the day, sitting out causes as many questions to be asked about your ability to be great as an injury would.

And this is the problem with the traditional football mentality. Most other places value a long-term outlook.

[Holdemall]

First of all, how many cases have there been where a stud defensive player had his earning potential blown because of an injury in college? Can anyone recall a single one?

Kevin Simon, Don Voss, Marcus Forston, Tony Dye, Kenny Tate, DaQuan Bowers, Josh Chapman, Omar Bolden?

[chief9]

Originally Posted by Holdemall

Kevin Simon, Don Voss, Marcus Forston, Tony Dye, Kenny Tate, DaQuan Bowers, Josh Chapman, Omar Bolden?

That's 7 out of how many that didn't? Pretty low odds actually, but I love how people use the rare instance as if it were the rule vs the exception.

[IntenselyOrange]

Originally Posted by MikeThomas4Prez

How dare he get a free education.

Are you serious 16 year olds in the NFL?. They would be killed. The majority of players are nowhere near ready physically or mentally until they are upperclassmen. Yes there will be a few expections, but tough luck.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that every 16 year old be given a spot on a team. We're talking about a unique person who would be the first draft pick. He wouldn't be that if not read to play physically. You are correct that most people would not be ready, but we're not talking about them. We're talking about a stupid rule that prevents someone who is capable from earning money.

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by IntenselyOrange

I don't think anyone is suggesting that every 16 year old be given a spot on a team. We're talking about a unique person who would be the first draft pick. He wouldn't be that if not read to play physically. You are correct that most people would not be ready, but we're not talking about them. We're talking about a stupid rule that prevents someone who is capable from earning money.

OTOH every profession has a right to set its rules and requirements, right? I mean you cannot be a surgeon without going to an accredited residency for a certain number of years along with demonstrating an aptitude for the work. A kid that studies super hard and is very dextrous cannot at 16 or 19 decide to skip out of the college, med school and residency requirements. Why not let the NFL set rules they think are reasonable.

It's not 100% about being ready to play for 60 minutes on Sunday. It's also about being able to properly prepare for the other 6 days of the week in the NFL.

[IntenselyOrange]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

OTOH every profession has a right to set its rules and requirements, right? I mean you cannot be a surgeon without going to an accredited residency for a certain number of years along with demonstrating an aptitude for the work. A kid that studies super hard and is very dextrous cannot at 16 or 19 decide to skip out of the college, med school and residency requirements. Why not let the NFL set rules they think are reasonable.

It's not 100% about being ready to play for 60 minutes on Sunday. It's also about being able to properly prepare for the other 6 days of the week in the NFL.

Decent argument. But that kid can get through school at any age he/she is capable (I would imagine). It's not an age requirement but rather a skills requirement. Clowney has the necessary skills, he's just not old enough.

[Calvin]

Originally Posted by MikeThomas4Prez

How dare he get a free education.

Are you serious 16 year olds in the NFL?. They would be killed. The majority of players are nowhere near ready physically or mentally until they are upperclassmen. Yes there will be a few expections, but tough luck.

Yes, the world needs more monopolies and cartels. Screw those athletes!

[AngryOrange]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

OTOH every profession has a right to set its rules and requirements, right? I mean you cannot be a surgeon without going to an accredited residency for a certain number of years along with demonstrating an aptitude for the work. A kid that studies super hard and is very dextrous cannot at 16 or 19 decide to skip out of the college, med school and residency requirements. Why not let the NFL set rules they think are reasonable.

It's not 100% about being ready to play for 60 minutes on Sunday. It's also about being able to properly prepare for the other 6 days of the week in the NFL.

Originally Posted by IntenselyOrange

Decent argument. But that kid can get through school at any age he/she is capable (I would imagine). It's not an age requirement but rather a skills requirement. Clowney has the necessary skills, he's just not old enough.

The NFL rule would allow for the same item as med school. You have to be three years removed from your high school graduating class. If a kid can get through school early, and is that much of a physical specimen, then they too could get drafted early.

[FredrickFremont]

Originally Posted by radiodj

Plus 1 million! This is a pet peeve of mine in both football and basketball. High school kids are not ready for pro in either sports. Lebron was a rare case because he had the body of a grown man. But it even took Kobe, KG and others 3 or 4 years to be superstars. High school kids going pro too early makes botg the college and pro game worse.

It takes us all a bit of time to excel in our fields.

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

OTOH every profession has a right to set its rules and requirements, right? I mean you cannot be a surgeon without going to an accredited residency for a certain number of years along with demonstrating an aptitude for the work. A kid that studies super hard and is very dextrous cannot at 16 or 19 decide to skip out of the college, med school and residency requirements. Why not let the NFL set rules they think are reasonable.

It's not 100% about being ready to play for 60 minutes on Sunday. It's also about being able to properly prepare for the other 6 days of the week in the NFL.

To this I would only say that not all professions are created equal. If you're under-qualified and not ready to perform brain surgery someone dies; if you're unready for the NFL, it's your goose that is potentially cooked, not anyone else's.

[MikeThomas4Prez]

Originally Posted by Calvin

Yes, the world needs more monopolies and cartels. Screw those athletes!

Im not sure if you are serious, but if you are then I really dont know what to say. I think the athletes have a pretty decent life, playing one more year of college isn't going to ruin that. It ensures that players are ready for the change. Just because a kid comes along every once in a while doesnt mean the rule needs to change. The majority arent.

I really dont think aksing someone to play 3 years of college ball is that much to ask. If hes so worried he can sit out. But hes not, because all this is is a media driven story.

[FredrickFremont]

Originally Posted by MikeThomas4Prez

Im not sure if you are serious, but if you are then I really dont know what to say. I think the athletes have a pretty decent life, playing one more year of college isn't going to ruin that. It ensures that players are ready for the change. Just because a kid comes along every once in a while doesnt mean the rule needs to change. The majority arent.

I really dont think aksing someone to play 3 years of college ball is that much to ask. If hes so worried he can sit out. But hes not, because all this is is a media driven story.

It does? A 21 year old is definitely prepared, but a 20 year old isn't? What about those of us with late birthdays? I was only 20 after I completed my junior year. Do you have science to confirm what you are saying, that I wouldn't have been ready, and refute what in my opinion is a completely arbitrary restriction?

[MikeThomas4Prez]

Another full year of college football, classes, and a year of maturity. Yeah it does. I could care less aboout when your birthday is or if you are 20 or 21.