My message to players who might opt out of bowl:

[Coastal Gamecock]

Assuming we dont make playoffs, and I know these players wont see this but here it is anyway: If you are a pro prospect and opt out, THANK YOU for a magical 2024 season. 10 wins would be incredible. However, CFB has changed and making the 12 playoff is what matters. Yall players beat LSU and got screwed. Yall are truly 10-2 and a playoff team, but that said, I cant blame a pro prospect not wanting to risk if in an Outback Bowl. ESPECIALLY guys like Kennard and Rocket, who came here for 1 glorious year and made themselves true pro prospects. You guys set an example that USC can use to draw other portal guys now.

This season has set our culture and path to the playoff for the future and its awesome! Bring in the next Kennard, the next Rocket, and lets run it back again!!!

 

[Coastal Gamecock]

And yes this is a 180 from my past stance on opting out, but whats changed is how I see non-playoff bowls now. I used to think they were important, but the 12 playoff has truly made them irrelevant. A glorified spring game against another team. I almost think they shouldnt even count on a teams record just because the rosters are so gutted.

 

[18IsTheMan]

My message is: don't be a quitter. Don't let your last memory to the Gamecock fan base be you quitting on the team. No, these games are not glorified scrimmages, no matter what anyone tells you. That "rationale" doesn't even begin to make sense (though nobody has ever tried to make it make sense). This team was projected to get 5 wins. We have the chance to get to 10 wins for only the 5th time in program history and have a shot at a nearly top 10 finish. That would make this a historic season for Gamecock football. Don't just think of yourselves; think of the future of Gamecock football after you leave. Staying to help us win a bowl game, secure 10 wins and finish with a high ranking will go a long way towards securing top talent in recruiting and the portal. Stay. Be a part of history. Be a part of something bigger than yourselves. Be a part of building something that will stand long after you leave. Don't be the person who says "I got mine, so I'm outta here."

 

[Cackmandu]

My message is: don't be a quitter. Don't let your last memory to the Gamecock fan base be you quitting on the team. No, these games are not glorified scrimmages, no matter what anyone tells you. That "rationale" doesn't even begin to make sense (though nobody has ever tried to make it make sense). This team was projected to get 5 wins. We have the chance to get to 10 wins for only the 5th time in program history and have a shot at a nearly top 10 finish. That would make this a historic season for Gamecock football. Don't just think of yourselves; think of the future of Gamecock football after you leave. Staying to help us win a bowl game, secure 10 wins and finish with a high ranking will go a long way towards securing top talent in recruiting and the portal. Stay. Be a part of history. Be a part of something bigger than yourselves. Be a part of building something that will stand long after you leave. Don't be the person who says "I got mine, so I'm outta here."

I like the way you think and I hope our guys feel the same way, I just don't think that is realistic in this day and time!

 

[18IsTheMan]

I like the way you think and I hope our guys feel the same way, I just don't think that is realistic in this day and time!

It's downright shocking to me how many of our fans care so little about our chances of getting 10 wins and, for sure, a top 12 finish. That puts this season in a very very small handful (literally) of best Gamecock seasons ever. And, considering our preseason expectations, it's up there for best season ever.

Makes me wonder how many of our fans have been around longer than 4-5 years.

So few seem to know our history.

 

[Cackmandu]

It's downright shocking to me how many of our fans care so little about our chances of getting 10 wins and, for sure, a top 12 finish. That puts this season in a very very small handful (literally) of best Gamecock seasons ever. And, considering our preseason expectations, it's up there for best season ever.

Makes me wonder how many of our fans have been around longer than 4-5 years.

So few seem to know our history.

I was just thinking the same thing listening to the morning show! It’s definitely a special year in our history, that being said being part of OUR history means little to a young man looking at HIS future!

 

[18IsTheMan]

I was just thinking the same thing listening to the morning show! It’s definitely a special year in our history, that being said being part of OUR history means little to a young man looking at HIS future!

Unfortunately, true. No concern for our past or our future.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Time to incentivize. The school tells the players their future children’s education is already covered. The fans chip in for some top of the line prostitutes. I think they’ll stay for the bowl game.

 

[Sweetwatergolf]

It's downright shocking to me how many of our fans care so little about our chances of getting 10 wins and, for sure, a top 12 finish. That puts this season in a very very small handful (literally) of best Gamecock seasons ever. And, considering our preseason expectations, it's up there for best season ever.

Makes me wonder how many of our fans have been around longer than 4-5 years.

So few seem to know our history.

Been a fan 45+ years and well aware of the history. But, if a player is projected in top 3 rounds I don't blame the opt out choice. I always look at what happened to ML in that Tennessee game. Freak accident I know, but it can cost a player serious $ for the future.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Finish what you start. Don't be like the quitters who didn't play the Gator Bowl & cost us a victory there.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Been a fan 45+ years and well aware of the history. But, if a player is projected in top 3 rounds I don't blame the opt out choice. I always look at what happened to ML in that Tennessee game. Freak accident I know, but it can cost a player serious $ for the future.

lol, used to "if a player is a first round lock" then it became "if they're projected to go in the first 2 rounds". Now it's first 3 rounds.

How low can we go?

 

[will110]

If a player opts out it'll really sour my memory of him. FINISH THE SEASON. We have a chance for one of the best seasons in school history with a bowl win.

I think we get a good chance here to see just how good a culture Beamer has instilled in his team. If we don't make the playoff, do our players quit and don't care, or do they finish what they started? Do they pull the FSU from last year, or do the pull the UGA?

FSU had a great season last year, but the culture wasn't there. Norvell lost the locker room, and you can see the results in 2024.
UGA had a great season, and none of their players opted out. They're back in the SEC Championship game.

 

[18IsTheMan]

If a player opts out it'll really sour my memory of him. FINISH THE SEASON. We have a chance for one of the best seasons in school history with a bowl win.

I think we get a good chance here to see just how good a culture Beamer has instilled in his team. If we don't make the playoff, do our players quit and don't care, or do they finish what they started? Do they pull the FSU from last year, or do the pull the UGA?

FSU had a great season last year, but the culture wasn't there. Norvell lost the locker room, and you can see the results in 2024.
UGA had a great season, and none of their players opted out. They're back in the SEC Championship game.

Yes!

Part of what we are dealing with though, is schools bringing in portal players who have no real connection to the school. It doesn't matter to them what a schools history or future is. To us fans, it's EXTREMELY important to get that 10-win season and top 10-ish finish. It's important because of our history and important for our future.

Fans often care more than the players though.

I'm still holding out hope that Beamer's culture wins out and everyone stays engaged for the bowl game.

 

[Lurker123]

Yes!

Part of what we are dealing with though, is schools bringing in portal players who have no real connection to the school. It doesn't matter to them what a schools history or future is. To us fans, it's EXTREMELY important to get that 10-win season and top 10-ish finish. It's important because of our history and important for our future.

Fans often care more than the players though.

I'm still holding out hope that Beamer's culture wins out and everyone stays engaged for the bowl game.

We hired a DE from GT for one year. Does he care more about GT or us? Does he care about our historical lack of 10 win seasons?

I would expect mercenaries to act like mercenaries and then just be pleasantly surprised if they don't.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

This thread here could turn into a really big fight. I'll just make one more comment on it & leave it alone. I lose all respect for players that quit/"opt out." Here are just a small sampling of names that didn't: George Rogers, Sterling Sharpe, Alshon Jeffery, Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore.....all ended their Cock careers by playing the bowl game with their TEAM. The risk of today's quitters is no more or less great than the risk those guys faced by playing in a bowl to finish their collegiate careers. Damn Christian McCaffery for starting this crap!!

 

[Sweetwatergolf]

lol, used to "if a player is a first round lock" then it became "if they're projected to go in the first 2 rounds". Now it's first 3 rounds.

How low can we go?

Just an opinion, didn't mean to get your panties twisted in a wad....

 

[Lurker123]

This thread here could turn into a really big fight. I'll just make one more comment on it & leave it alone. I lose all respect for players that quit/"opt out." Here are just a small sampling of names that didn't: George Rogers, Sterling Sharpe, Alshon Jeffery, Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore.....all ended their Cock careers by playing the bowl game with their TEAM. The risk of today's quitters is no more or less great than the risk those guys faced by playing in a bowl to finish their collegiate careers. Damn Christian McCaffery for starting this crap!!

Thise guys played in a different era. Would they even be gamecocks after their FR years with the NIL? Would they opt out if half their team did?

Hard to compare.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Thise guys played in a different era. Would they even be gamecocks after their FR years with the NIL? Would they opt out if half their team did?

Hard to compare.

Strenuously disagree. Eras don't matter. 1980 Gator Bowl.....what reason did Rogers have to play? There were no stakes. 1987 Gator Bowl......what reason did Sharpe have to play? There were no stakes. You see where I'm going with this. Not a lick different than the bowls Samuel opted out of in 2018 or the one Smith/Pickens/etc. opted out of in 2022. One final game with the TEAM.

 

[Uscg1984]

Thise guys played in a different era. Would they even be gamecocks after their FR years with the NIL? Would they opt out if half their team did?

Hard to compare.

It's always hard to compare eras, but I think the presence of substantial NIL money should make it more likely, not less, that players would play in a bowl game. For one thing, star college players today who are already making in excess of $500K do not face the "all or nothing" prospect that players from the earlier eras faced if they suffered a freak bowl injury that ended their NFL chances.

 

[will110]

Strenuously disagree. Eras don't matter. 1980 Gator Bowl.....what reason did Rogers have to play? There were no stakes. 1987 Gator Bowl......what reason did Sharpe have to play? There were no stakes. You see where I'm going with this. Not a lick different than the bowls Samuel opted out of in 2018 or the one Smith/Pickens/etc. opted out of in 2022. One final game with the TEAM.

The bowl game statistics didn't even count for Rogers or Sharpe. They played for the team, and that was it. That's what I'm hoping we'll see from this team. If we don't, it'll definitely take some of the luster off the season.

 

[18IsTheMan]

It has been noted previously but an easy way to largely fix this it to tie bowl participation into NIL deals.

 

[Lurker123]

Strenuously disagree. Eras don't matter. 1980 Gator Bowl.....what reason did Rogers have to play? There were no stakes. 1987 Gator Bowl......what reason did Sharpe have to play? There were no stakes. You see where I'm going with this. Not a lick different than the bowls Samuel opted out of in 2018 or the one Smith/Pickens/etc. opted out of in 2022. One final game with the TEAM.

Agree to disagree.

"Meaningless bowls" have always been just that. No one opted out 20 years ago, so to compare that to today is not reasonable. But just my opinion.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Strenuously disagree. Eras don't matter. 1980 Gator Bowl.....what reason did Rogers have to play? There were no stakes. 1987 Gator Bowl......what reason did Sharpe have to play? There were no stakes. You see where I'm going with this. Not a lick different than the bowls Samuel opted out of in 2018 or the one Smith/Pickens/etc. opted out of in 2022. One final game with the TEAM.

The bowl game statistics didn't even count for Rogers or Sharpe. They played for the team, and that was it. That's what I'm hoping we'll see from this team. If we don't, it'll definitely take some of the luster off the season.

Sadly, I do think the era matters, largely because of the cultural shift.

Opting out wasn't even in the vocabulary when those guys played. They COULD have, but the thought simply never entered anyone's mind. The idea of choosing not to play in your team's final game was simply an idea nobody conceived of. If you suggested it, people would have looked at you as if you had 4 heads.

Now it's expected. Even encouraged and applauded by a team's own fans as in the OP.

 

[Lurker123]

It's always hard to compare eras, but I think the presence of substantial NIL money should make it more likely, not less, that players would play in a bowl game. For one thing, star college players today who are already making in excess of $500K do not face the "all or nothing" prospect that players from the earlier eras faced if they suffered a freak bowl injury that ended their NFL chances.

That is true. My comment about the NIL was more to do with the "would they even be gamecocks after their FR year" thing.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Agreebto disagree.

"Meaningless bowls" have always been just that. No one opted out 20 years ago, so to compare that to today is not reasonable. But just my opinion.

I agree that the significance of many bowls is no different today than it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. The #15 team in the country was never playing for a national title, no matter the era, but players still played.

To me, that's a strong argument against opting out.

 

[will110]

I agree that the significance of many bowls is no different today than it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. The #15 team in the country was never playing for a national title, no matter the era, but players still played.

To me, that's a strong argument against opting out.

In my mind the biggest reason to not opt out of bowl games is that players don't opt out of the regular season. If the bowl game is meaningless, then every game after a team is eliminated from playoff contention is meaningless.

 

[18IsTheMan]

In my mind the biggest reason to not opt out of bowl games is that players don't opt out of the regular season. If the bowl game is meaningless, then every game after a team is eliminated from playoff contention is meaningless.

It would seem that way.

Applying logic won't get you very far in these discussions though.

I just can't really wrap my mind around fans who don't care what our final ranking it is.

Maybe I'm a dinosaur, but to me, it's very significant if we can have a top 10-12 finish vs a top 20-25 finish.

 

[Lurker123]

In my mind the biggest reason to not opt out of bowl games is that players don't opt out of the regular season. If the bowl game is meaningless, then every game after a team is eliminated from playoff contention is meaningless.

Don't say that. You realize that's what's next for some people.

Wait, didn't some players do that already this year?

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Agree to disagree.

"Meaningless bowls" have always been just that. No one opted out 20 years ago, so to compare that to today is not reasonable. But just my opinion.

That's the "follow the leader" philosophy.

 

[DeBoer31]

Yes - I am on record prior to this season as saying Sellers is the most talented QB we have ever had and I expect any and all wins to run through him. Also knew Rocket was a stud, and our DBs and LBs were really good.
The pass rush/edge has been a bigger surprise to me than anything else. Unbelievable year out of those guys. If you can rush the passer in modern football - you can be competitive and mask potential other flaws.

 

[DeBoer31]

lol, used to "if a player is a first round lock" then it became "if they're projected to go in the first 2 rounds". Now it's first 3 rounds.

How low can we go?

exactly... its BS. NFL career spans are very minimal. If you're a top 15 pick guaranteed (which is rare....because those projections change like the wind throughout the year) I can see sitting out/protecting yourself. Besides that...get on the field and make yourself a bigger payday.

 

[18IsTheMan]

exactly... its BS. NFL career spans are very minimal. If you're a top 15 pick guaranteed (which is rare....because those projections change like the wind throughout the year) I can see sitting out/protecting yourself. Besides that...get on the field and make yourself a bigger payday.

I'm old enough to remember when all of the "going pro early" talk mostly centered on guys who were projected top 10.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

I'm old enough to remember when all of the "going pro early" talk mostly centered on guys who were projected top 10.

John Freakin' Abraham didn't even go pro early.