Seeing everyone chime in on Surratt, Carter, Brown, and now Javonte William’s decision to sit out the Orange Bowl has inspired me to put my two cents in. Seeing all the comments on the multiple facebook groups I am a member of was eye opening. First and foremost, I do appreciate the discussions and support I get from those groups. It has been fun discussing Carolina Athletics with ya’ll.
I guess my personal feeling towards their decisions is this… I wish they would play and finish what they started. I think they would benefit from performing well on the biggest stage Carolina Football has been on in a very long time. Definitely bigger than anything I have witnessed in my 24 years. The team that beat the brakes off Miami was the team that got invited to the Orange Bowl and that isn’t the team they are going to get. Surratt is for sure a top 50 prospect and it has even been thrown around that he may be a first round pick, but those are rumors at this point. It will depend on draft order and team needs. I guess the argument for Carter is that he can’t possibly have a better game than what he had against Miami and that is true. He still isn’t projected to be a high draft pick and another great game on an even bigger stage could have helped him in my opinion. Brown could improve his draft stock as well as it always seems like the wide receiver class is stacked each year. But that is my personal opinion. Williams is also the 3rd best running back on Mel Kiper Jr.’s draft board behind only Harris (Alabama) and Etienne (Clemson). I understand William’s was waiting on more from the NFL, but Mack did want more of a heads up. Oh well. They made the decision they believed was best for them.
What gets me is people act like their absences won’t be felt on the field. We are down two of our biggest offensive weapons and we are without the leader of our defense. It is going to affect our team and our performance. It does give younger players a chance to step up on offense, but these are guys that haven’t taken as many snaps as Brown or Carter this season and now you expect them to show out against Texas A&M at the Orange Bowl? I guess this could be a good measuring tool for next year’s squad. Grimes and Conley played well against Miami and will get another chance to prove they can perform against top competition. Not to mention A&M’s only loss was to Alabama who is the undisputed best team in college football in my opinion. Carter and Williams were so effective because we could throw both backs at the opposing defense. Sure maybe you slow down one, but you probably weren’t slowing them both down. Now A&M doesn’t have to worry about either of those guys. Half our offense is gone. But maybe it is a good thing that running backs will be playing that A&M will have little to no tape on.
With all of that being said, I understand their decision. Me being the hard nose person that I am, I am playing in that game if I’m them, but I’m not. Different players will make different decisions regarding their future. These felt it was best to sit out. Hopefully they all get invited to the combine and perform well so there isn’t a “what if” because there definitely will be for the fans especially if we lose to A&M. But it isn’t about us as much as we want it to be.
I wish this wasn’t even a thing, but it kind of started when Christian McCaffrey sat out his last bowl game at Stanford which ironically was against us. He was a top 10 pick and it really was a meaningless game. I would argue a New Year six bowl is not, but that is besides the point.
Again I understand the player’s decision even if I don't like it. They are just trying to make sure they get some money after being a cash cow for the NCAA. The NCAA is a sham and that is the nicest way to put that. They hide behind a fake model of “amateurism” in order to maximize their profits. I mean just look at the TV rights for March Madness or the CFP. Coaches get bonuses for getting to bowl games or winning a certain number of games and conferences get bonuses for sending a team to the CFP. That is why the Big Ten changed their rules about their championship game to allow Ohio State to participate. Ohio State was their only chance at a playoff berth and, if I remember correctly, a $6 million dollar pay out. Football and Men’s Basketball funds the athletic departments for 99% of D1 schools. That was why there was such an emphasis on playing this football season. Without football most schools couldn’t afford to operate their other programs. College Football and Men’s Basketball are professional sports in the way they operate on the college level. Plus coaches can leave whenever they want, and the NCAA picks and chooses who to grant immediate eligibility to when it comes to transfer players. It is almost at random with no good reasons. Now there is the argument that these players are receiving a free education and that should be enough. But are they? Yes some players are. Some players can keep up academically at the universities they attend. Marcus Paige doubled majored, for example. Some can’t. They are pushed through the system in order to remain eligible so they can play the sport that makes the school money. At that point are they really learning anything? Did they really receive an education? These players are just trying to make sure they get what is theirs. They have already seen so many other people and organizations make millions of dollars off of them and now they are trying to make sure they get a cut from their hard work. They want to insure they have a chance to make millions from football. Now maybe they get to the NFL and they flunk out per say. Well then that is on them. I don’t like their decision, but I understand it.
I have heard people mention loyalty which I get. You practiced and fought beside your teammates all year to get to this point and then you bounce? It does give you a reason for pause, but these guys could have transferred away after the terrible first 2 seasons the team had. They could have not bought into what Mack Brown was doing and transferred before he got to Chapel Hill. Surratt was terrible at QB, but he could of had his head up his ass about it and transferred to another school that would have let him play that position. Instead he stayed and asked the coaching staff if he could completely switch sides of the ball. I think we are all glad he did. Now the coaching staff put their trust in them as well, but I don’t think Mack or any of the other coaches are mad at these guys. Mack has coached a lot of pros and shit Dre Bly was one of the best corners in the league. He isn’t mad either. Being a fan, it sucks because you want to watch the best possible team on January 2nd take on the Aggies and we aren’t going to get that. These guys are just trying to get out of themselves what others have the past 3-4 years. They say don’t hate the player, hate the game. Well don’t hate the player, hate the NCAA and their fake “amateurism.”
I also spent an entire summer around these guys. The summer before my senior year at UNC (summer of 2017) I was a social and digital media intern for the team. I spent a lot of time on the field, weight room and at other team activities filming these guys. These guys are humans just like the rest of us. These guys also worked their ass off. This was till during the Fedora era. They made a business decision. They did what they felt like was best for them. I hate it from a fan perspective because the Orange Bowl has definitely lost some of its thrill. Don’t lie. Ya’ll are disappointed you won’t get to see the same team that played Miami play again. From a personal perspective, I understand though. We all make decisions that are best for ourselves. If you don’t look out for you then no one else will. For me, it was moving up to Delaware as a way to somewhat start over from a career perspective. That decision made other people sad, but they still understood and supported me. So I just challenge you to think about a time you made a decision that you needed to make to look after yourself; in order to do what was best for you. Maybe you moved away from your hometown for a job or went to college far from home, or changed careers, etc. In a sense, that is what these guys are doing.
I wish they would have declared after the game in order to keep their eligibility, but these guys are now focused on preparing for their futures. I hope it works out for all involved. Go Heels!
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